Tale Of A Nine Tails Legacy
by goofnutgav
Summary: They say that a single journey begins with a single step. I found out the hard way after winding up in a crazy world filled with ninja and chakra, having my body change into something inhuman and forced to be a monster's legacy. Read on to discover my path in this life and how things will change down the road.
1. Chapter 1

LAPD Metro HQ, 2710 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, California, 2003.

The muffled sounds of gunfire rang out as I shot the paper target down the center mass and the slide of my beretta 92FS locked back. I took off the ear protectors and the safety glasses, loaded my gun with a fresh mag and walked over to the person manning the desk nearby.

"Hey Alex," the man greeted me and asked, "How are you doing today?"

"I'm good Charlie, can't complain," I replied as I handed Charlie the ear protectors and the safety glasses.

"Glad to hear it. Say, I was wondering if you would want to come to my son's birthday party later today?" Charlie offered as he loaded my empty mag with fresh rounds.

"Really? Your son is turning five today, right?" I inquired curiously.

"Yeah. So, how about it?" Charlie asked after he handed me the loaded mag.

"Why not? I don't have anything planned for this afternoon." I said with a nod and Charlie perked up.

"Great! I'll be seeing you, Sergeant Winston," Charlie stated just as my pager buzzed.

"I gotta go Charlie, duty calls," I said as I went to leave.

"Go get them, Sergeant," Charlie encouraged me just as I left.

Taking out my cellphone, I called the number on my pager and was instructed to suit up and respond to a 211 that had turned into a barricaded hostage situation at the Valley Trust Bank.

I rushed over to the men's locker room and saw my team suiting up.

"Hey Sarge. You got the call too?" Jake, my second in command, asked.

"Howdy Jake, and I did," I replied as I put on a navy blue jumpsuit, black elbow and knee pads, black gloves, black combat boots, black tactical vest with the word SWAT on the front and back, and a black military helmet with goggles on it.

My team and I hurried over to the armory and each took an M4A1 carbine with ACOG scope and flashlight attachments, an MP5A2 with surefire flashlight attachment, and a Kimber custom TLE with a flashlight attachment.

We headed out of the building and got into a bearcat truck. When we were all loaded in, the driver took us to the scene.

I began to brief the team on the situation. "Okay, listen up boys. We have a 211 turned barricaded hostage situation at the Valley Trust Bank. Officers on scene have been taking heavy fire from two gunmen and one officer is down. What's going to happen is that we will be going in two teams. Team 1, which is us, will be on the ground and providing assistance while team 2 will be flying in by helicopter and taking the roof. Everybody clear on what I just said?" I questioned while I checked my M4 and everybody muttered in agreement.

"Alright, lets rock and roll boys," I declared just as we approached the scene and could hear the sounds of rapid gunfire blaring out.

"Arriving at the scene now!" the driver notified us as we pulled to a stop. I fist-bumped Jake as we exited the bearcat and kept our heads down from the spray of gunfire.

While my team and I headed to the mobile command truck, I spotted the two perps, who were shooting at uniformed officers with AK47s and staying close to a white sedan.

"Lieutenant," I greeted as we approached the mobile command unit.

"Sergeant Winston, it's good to see you," Lieutenant Velásquez replied with a nod.

"So, how many perps are we dealing with?" I questioned.

"We've got the two perps shooting and at least two more inside the bank with hostages, but we don't know if there are more inside," Velásquez informed me.

"Okay. What about the negotiator? Is he here?" I inquired.

"He's over there waiting for us to tap in so that he can contact the perps inside the bank," Velásquez stated as he pointed to a man wearing a suit and I nodded.

"Thanks. We're going to take up positions around the front of the bank so that the perps won't be able to get mobile on foot," I notified him and my team and I quickly took up positions behind cars, the corners of the bank, and waited for the go ahead.

"Suspect's trying to get into the driver's side door," I heard Sierra 1 notify on my radio as I spotted one of the perps getting into the white car.

"This is 10 David, do not let them get mobile," Velásquez ordered and momentarily the perp inside the car was taken out by sniper fire from Sierra 1.

"He's down," Sierra 1 said.

The other perp kept firing as he backed up to the passenger side and leaned into the open door of the car. The car started moving and he used it as cover as he fired at my location, prompting me and Jake to shoot back in alternating single shots to try and take him down.

I let out a yell of pain when the shooter got lucky and caught me in the vest with a few shots, sending me crashing to the ground and hitting my head hard.

"Shit! We have an officer down!" Jake notified in his radio urgently as he leaned out of cover and grabbed the back of my vest, dragging me back into cover and resuming fire.

I felt woozy and my head hurt bad. I was very dizzy and I closed my eyes just for a moment to regain my equilibrium and blacked out.

* * *

I was startled awake when I heard the sounds of screaming, destruction, and roars of something very large.

 _"Argh...my fucking head. Where the hell am I?"_ I thought as I unsteadily stood up and got a good look at my surroundings.

I was in an alley of some kind with my weapons, equipment, SWAT helmet, uniform, and tactical vest, but my attention was focused on determining what was happening.

 _"What the hell is going on?"_ I thought in confusion as I carefully looked beyond the alley and I paled when I saw the scene in the street.

People were running and screaming, but what caught my attention and made me feel shock and disbelief was that there was a giant fox-like creature the size of a skyscraper, with a humanoid muscular torso, arms, hands with paw pads, orange/red fur, long ears, and, honest to God, nine tails destroying the large town I was in with swipes of its claws and tails as people wearing strange clothing were literally shooting fire, water, earth and the other elements from their mouths and throwing weapons that looked like they were something out of a ninja movie.

 _"What in the holy name of everything is that fucking thing?! Are those people shooting the elements out of their mouths?!"_ I thought incredulously at the sight before me.

The fox that was the size of the Empire State Building opened its muzzle and roared, sending an enormous gust with the force of a hurricane out to destroy buildings and send people flying. I cried out in terror as I dived back into the alley to prevent getting blown away.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed as I scrambled back to my feet. Even though part of me had decided that all this must be a hallucination from a head injury, my military and law enforcement training kicked in and I ran out of the alley toward the people who were battling the fox monster, praying that my weapons could help in the fight.

I approached many people throwing kuni and other ninja weapons. I stopped and looked at the monster warily, trying to gauge the distance. I raised my rifle and aimed, praying that I could do some form of damage. I fired repeatedly and the rounds struck the thing. They barely made a difference, but a few of the men and women stared at me in confusion as I kept shooting.

The giant fox looked in my direction with its blood red eyes, and I trembled as it snarled and swung a tail at me. Something grabbed the back of my vest and I was suddenly airborne and landing on a nearby rooftop with a middle aged man dressed in battle armor of some kind, just as the tail smashed the area where I used to be.

"Are you alright, strange one?" the man asked me in a gravelly voice.

"I'm fine, thank you. What the fuck is that thing?! And what the hell is going on?!" I questioned frantically just as more men and women landed onto the roof.

"Lord Third! We aren't putting a dent in the Nine Tails! What are your orders?!" one man asked as the fox kept destroying buildings and killing people.

"You know your orders! Keep pressing the attack and stall the fox long enough for the fourth to arrive!" the man instructed and asked me, "Strange one, will you help us?!"

"I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I'll do my best," I stated just as the fox looked at our location and swung a hand at us.

"Incoming!" one man exclaimed in alarm and we all were forced to move to prevent getting crushed.

The strangely dressed people managed to move out of the way, but my vest was caught by the monster's enormous claw and I was flung to the top of its head. I clung onto its fur as the fox turned its head to look at a mountain that had stone heads carved into it. I noticed a figure standing on one of the heads. The fox saw the same figure and reacted by lifting its head and forming a giant purple ball in front of its mouth, which then shot at the mountain. Giant letters, some form of writing appeared in front of the mountain and the purple ball stopped suddenly in midair, then was sucked into the writing and disappeared. Within a few seconds an explosion happened miles away.

 _"Holy shit! What the fuck did I just witness?!"_ I thought in disbelief as the fox lifted its head up and roared in savage rage.

I felt so afraid at the feeling of intense bloodlust and hatred coming off the monster, but I was in awe at its power and strength as I clung to its fur for dear life as it thrashed around. It suddenly stopped moving entirely for several surreal seconds, then sprang back to life, roaring as it smashed more buildings and killed more people. A few men wearing white animal masks threw kuni decorated with paper tags that exploded on contact with the fox, causing the monster to roar and slap the men away. I saw something, I don't know what, extend from a nearby building and hit the monster in the gut, shoving it out of town and into the nearby forest. I yelled and hung on for dear life as as the monster was forcibly moved and we wound up in the forest. I was unable to do anything or unholster my Kimber custom since letting go of the monster's fur would cause me to be thrown off and I would fall to my death.

The monster started forming another purple ball, but something large landed on the monster, nearly crushing me.

"Ohhhhh fffffuuuuccckkk meeeee!" I screamed in terror when I saw that the thing that landed on the fox was a giant toad with a sword.

"Hold the Nine Tails just a little longer!" I heard a male voice from above shouting.

 **"I'll give it my best, but that's going to be tough, even for me!"** the toad spoke and I felt like I was losing my mind.

 _"This isn't real! This is a fucking nightmare!"_ I thought in sheer terror and denial as I felt the strangest jarring sensation of rapid movement.

I suddenly hit the ground and a felt a few ribs break, making me choke at the agonizing sensation as I laid in front of the fox. I groaned in pain as I slowly stood up and looked up at the monster in fear, who looked down at me in hatred and a little bit of curiosity.

 **"What do we have here? A human wearing strange clothes and holding a stick that shoots fire?"** I heard the fox mutter in a demonic and guttural voice.

This was unbelievable as chains came out of the ground and wrapped around the fox, who snarled and struggled harshly just as I heard an infant crying and I turned around to see a man and a woman with a baby nearby.

The man appeared to be in his late 20s with neck long spiky blond hair, wearing a headband with a metal frame on the front, a cloak with flames on the bottom and a kanji on the back, green flack jacket, blue pants, and sandals. The woman in her late 20s looked worse for wear as blood trickled out of her mouth. Her long red hair was disheveled from sweat that matted her clothes. I heard the woman talking to the man, who recoiled and and looked like he was going to cry as I approached. The man made strange gestures with his hands, and something that looked like some kind of altar with a small bed on it appeared out of nowhere. The man took the baby from the woman and laid him gently on the small bed.

"Excuse me," I announced and they looked at me, the man instantly on guard, holding a strange looking kuni.

"Who are you?" the man asked warily as he stood between me and the woman.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you or your friend. I just wanted to see if your friend was okay," I assured as I slung my rifle and held my hands up to show that I wasn't a threat.

"You look strange...how do I know you aren't a threat to my wife and son?" the man questioned suspiciously.

"You have my word that I won't hurt your wife and son," I vowed while keeping my distance and I said, "My name is Alex Winston, what's your name?"

"My name is Minato, my wife's name is Kushina, and this is our son Naruto," Minato introduced while I took a closer look at Kushina.

 _"She doesn't look so good."_ I thought grimly just as Kushina gasped in pain and slumped forward as Minato caught her, keeping her from falling to the ground.

"Kushina!" Minato cried out in panic just as I heard the chains loosening and looked back to see the fox raising a hand, about to impale the baby with its claws.

"Look out!" I exclaimed in alarm and watched in horror as they both leapt into the fox's way and were impaled while protecting the baby.

 **"Damn you, Fourth Hokage!"** the fox roared out in fury and frustration and cried out desperately, **"No! This will not happen again!"**

Before I could react, the fox thrust a claw at me and I was impaled through my vest and into my chest. I choked and gurgled in agony as blood bubbled out of my mouth and the most horrible pain ripped through me. I howled in agony as a red bubbling aura flowed from the fox and into me, the unbearable pain nearly sending me into unconsciousness.

 **"If I'm going to be sealed again, then this human will continue as my legacy!"** the fox declared as my body started changing into a different form.

My clothes and gear vanished as my feet and legs snapped into a digitigrade form, my nails turning into black claws, paw pads growing on my paws, ears growing long, multiple tails growing out of my spine, and my head stretching and compressing into a vulpine shape as orange fur grew all over and black fur covered the inside of my ears, trailing to my eyes. The last change was my eyes turning blood red and my pupils forming into slits just as the fox removed his claw from my chest. As the hole healed up, I grew until I was twice the size of a large horse.

I collapsed, breathing heavily from the pain just as Minato made handsigns and a transparent humanoid creature with horns appeared.

"Alex-san? Oh Kami, what has the Nine Tails done to you?" I heard Minato question in horror as the pain began to fade and I sat up to stare at my hands in disbelief.

 _"Oh God...I'm not even human anymore,"_ I thought in shock as I got up on all fours and wobbled a little as I glared at the monster in hot rage.

 **"You bastard! What the fuck have you done to me?!"** I roared out in fury in a deep and guttural voice while my new tails thrashed around in agitation, and the fox smirked in amusement.

 **"I gave you a little...gift, human. Enjoy being a Human Tailed Beast for the rest of your now immortal life,"** the fox huffed as the creature with horns took out the knife from between its teeth and reached for the fox, sinking its hand into the fox's body and pulling out a blue aura.

The aura went into Minato and he gasped in pain as he did more handsigns and a human sized toad appeared in a puff of smoke. The toad looked at the fox and then at me, and paled.

"Aaahhhh! The Nine Tails and a clone?! And the Lord Fourth too?! What the hell is going on here?!" the toad cried out in panic as I watched in distress.

"Gerotora...I'll give you the sealing formula's key. When I'm done, take it to master Jiraiya to store it," Minato instructed and my new powerful ears picked up someone talking.

"So that's it...Minato plans to make his own child the Nine Tails Jinchuriki to save the village!" I heard a voice state. I looked behind me to see the man that had saved me earlier, standing with two other men next to him a short distance away.

"I can confirm I've received the key! Alright, I'm off!" Gerotora declared as I looked back to see him poof out of existence in a cloud of smoke.

"And now we're safe...Alex-san, I know this whole thing has been a shock to you but I want you to promise me and Kushina something," Minato told me as I awkwardly moved to him and his wife.

 **"What is it?"** I asked, my voice cracking up and tears starting to form since I had an idea about what he wanted me to promise.

"I know that we aren't going to make it so please...guh...help to watch over our child...Naruto will live a cruel life due to being a Jinchuriki and I sense that you have unique abilities that can help him as he grows," Minato gasped and I nodded.

 **"I swear I will. I'll treat him as if he was one of my own,"** I agreed while I looked at the child with a solemn expression.

"Thank you...we appreciate that," Minato groaned as Kushina smiled gratefully and she looked at Naruto.

"Naruto...don't be a picky eater. Just eat a lot so you'll grow up big and strong...and make sure that you bathe everyday and stay warm too. Also, don't stay up too late and get plenty of sleep...don't forget to make friends as well...you don't need a ton of them, okay? Just a few is fine...as long as they are ones you can really trust. And...your mom wasn't very good at this, but make sure you study very hard and learn your ninjutsu...always remember that everyone is good at some things and not so good at others. So even if something doesn't go well, don't get depressed...okay? When you're at the Academy...respect your teachers in the classrooms...oh, and now this is important...regarding the three prohibitions of the shinobi...be extra careful about borrowing and lending money. Take your pay...and put it in a savings account...no alcohol, not until you are 21 years of age...too much sake is bad for you so...practice moderation...and another prohibition is women...remember, I am one...so I don't know too much about it. Keep in mind...that this world is made up of men and women, so at some point, you'll notice girls and that's normal...just be careful and don't fall for the bad ones. Just go out there and find someone like me...one more thing, watch out for Jiraiya Sensei and always listen to Alex-san...Naruto, I'm sorry to say that there will be plenty of hardships and painful times ahead, but just be true to yourself and make sure to have dreams...along with having the confidence to make them come true...oh Naruto, there's so much...so much more. There are so many things I wish I had time to pass on to you...so much more I wanna tell you. I wish I could stay with you longer...I love you. Minato, I'm sorry...I used up your time," Kushina apologized while she was sobbing and he shook his head in understanding.

"No...it's alright. Naruto, my words to you...I guess your talkative mom said it all, but Alex-san will be there to take care of you while we're gone...I'm truly sorry to put this burden on you. I hope one day you will forgive me for this...eight signed seal," Minato muttered sorrowfully and the fox roared as he was sucked into Naruto and the two parents fell to the ground.

At that point it was too much for me and I broke out sobbing at the horrible tragedy I had witnessed, heading over to Naruto and curling up next to him with my tails instinctively wrapped around him gently to calm the crying child.

 _"I will make sure this child has someone to take care of him, I swear,"_ I thought as the man in battle armor and his men quickly approached.

"Oh Kami..." I heard the man in battle armor mutter in despair as the two men with him saw me and readied their swords.

"Lord Third! It's a clone of the Nine Tails!" one of the men cried out in alarm as their leader looked to see me with Naruto.

 **"If you three attack me, you'll hurt the boy so stand down,"** I said sternly as I kept Naruto close.

"We're not taking orders from a demon! You and your filthy kind killed my son! Now die!" the man roared out and went to attack me, but he was stopped by his leader.

"Stand down!" the man ordered and the two men looked at him in shock.

"B-but Lord Third-" the second man tried to protest, but he was cut off with a stern look.

"You heard me! There has been too much death tonight, and this "clone" used to be human, so stand down," the man in the battle armor stated wearily.

The two men hesitated but they eventually sheathed their swords and tensed up when I stood up on all fours and put Naruto on my back with one of my tails. Suddenly, we heard gasping and saw Kushina wheezing weakly, prompting everyone to rush over to check on her.

"Kushina! Can you hear me?!" the man in battle armor spoke frantically and Kushina barely looked at him.

"...Sarutobi? Is that you?" Kushina gasped and coughed harshly.

"I am here, just stay with me so that we can get you to a hospital!" Sarutobi said frantically but Kushina shook her head weakly.

"It's too late for that...I only have seconds...I just wanted you to do me and my husband a favor," Kushina wheezed.

"Anything," Sarutobi said with tears running down his cheeks.

"That child is going to live a harsh life...my husband's final wish is that the people of Konohagakure see our son as a hero for keeping the fox locked up, and we want people to see that Alex-san is not the Nine Tails or it's clone...guh...can you do that for us?" Kushina asked while her weak breathing started to fade.

"I will..." Sarutobi trailed off quietly.

Kushina smiled and before I knew it, her breathing stopped and I lowered my vulpine head out of respect for their sacrifice and hard choice to make their son a vessel for a monster.

 _"Nobody is ever going to be the same after tonight...not even me,"_ I thought bitterly as I felt the fox's intense power flowing through my new form and I wondered what would happen next in this new life I had been thrown into.

* * *

I kept Naruto close as Sarutobi and a few men escorted me through the village. It was strange moving around in a new form and feeling the alien sensation of multiple tails swaying fluidly, but I knew that I had to adapt for Naruto's sake. If there was one thing I had learned in the military and the battle of Mogadishu in 1993, is that you needed to adapt and overcome if you wanted to survive a hellish situation.

I saw many survivors glaring at me with intense hatred, shouting threats and calling me names like monster, demon, hellspawn, and other cruel insults. I didn't know if it was the new body the Nine Tailed Fox had forcibly changed me into, but I could somehow sense rage, grief, hatred, vengeance, fear, and malicious intent coming off all the people around us as we kept moving through the village.

After the whole tragic events of tonight, I was ordered by Sarutobi to follow him and he explained that there was going to be a council meeting to discuss what was going to happen to me, and what was going to be Naruto's future. I didn't blame the people looking so hateful at me since I was a perfect replica of the monster that killed their friends and family, and I also didn't blame them for not knowing what to do with me, a person that was an unexpected development in their lives.

 **"How much longer?"** I asked Sarutobi patiently, who had his men keeping people back from taking out their fury and vengeance on me.

"Not much longer, strange one. We are almost there," Sarutobi assured as we were approaching a large building.

 **"Alex,"** I said and Sarutobi looked at me in confusion.

"I'm sorry?" Sarutobi inquired.

 **"My name is Alex Winston,"** I clarified while I kept Naruto gently wrapped in one of my tails like a blanket and held him close to my side.

"Alex Winston...a strange name but it is not my place to judge," Sarutobi stated as we entered the building and he didn't appear to be looking forward to the meeting that was going to happen.

We eventually came to a large door that led into the council chambers and I could hear quiet whispers about how I was being escorted by the now fully named Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had the title Third Hokage and that I was carrying an unnamed child. I didn't know what the title Hokage meant, but my guess was that whoever carried the title was someone of great importance.

I felt nervous since I didn't know what was going to happen to me and if things were going to turn out okay, but I was snapped out of my thoughts when the large door opened and I was led into the chamber.

As we went in, all the whispering stopped and I saw everyone inside staring at me with a mixture of emotions. One half was looking at me with fear and the other half was looking in confusion since I had Naruto with me and I wasn't being hostile.

* * *

The council made up of civilians and shinobi were currently staring uneasily at the eerie looking copy of the monster fox that nearly destroyed the hidden leaf village, and they also felt confused when they saw that the thing was holding a newborn baby in one of its tails.

"Sorry for the wait. Now, I hereby declare this meeting underway," Hiruzen stated as he and the large fox headed to the seat at the head of the room and the formerly retired Hokage knew that he and Alex were going to be in for a long one when everyone started murmuring at the announcement.

"Lord Third...forgive me if I'm being rude, but why is the Nine Tailed Fox with you? Why is it at a smaller size? What happened to Lord Fourth and why hasn't it attacked?" Shikaku Nara questioned.

"Who cares why! That's the demon that attacked our home and slaughtered our loved ones!" a gaunt civilian cried out in rage and he was shut up by a small burst of killer intent from Hiruzen.

"If you will stay quiet and let me speak, then I will explain!" Hiruzen said sternly and started to explain.

As Hiruzen explained, some of those in the clan council felt horror and despair when they learned that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were dead since they knew them really well and fought alongside them in the 3rd Great Shinobi War, but they also felt shock and disbelief when Hiruzen told them that the Nine Tails that was sitting in front of them used to be a human who was forcibly changed by the real fox before it was sealed into the baby Alex was keeping close.

"Lord Third...there are no words to describe how this is possible...I thought the fox was a mindless being of destruction that causes disaster, and none of us knew that it could use its chakra to change a human into a clone of itself," Tsume Inuzuka spoke in shock as she looked at the fox who used to be human.

"Neither did I, Tsume. But if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it myself...which is why we need to figure this out by contacting Jiraiya so that he can study this phenomenon and hope that he will find a way to reverse the affects," Hiruzen agreed grimly, then Inoichi Yamanaka started speaking.

"Lord Third...if I may, I would like to delve into our furry friend's mind so that I could make sure the fox isn't influencing him to carry out malicious intent," Inoichi offered.

"As long as it's okay with Alex-san, because he has been through enough tonight and we don't want to further distress him anymore then he already has been," Hiruzen said and everyone looked at Alex, who was in deep thought.

As everyone looked at Alex, Hiruzen noticed that Danzo was being unusually quiet and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion since the war hawk was most likely planning something. Hiruzen knew Danzo and if he was being quiet, then that wasn't a good sign for Alex.

* * *

I kept thinking about how the man with blond hair was going to go into my mind and if I wanted him to do that. On one hand, if the monster fox had left its dark essence in me, this examination could prevent the fox from influencing me and making me do something I would regret. But on the other hand, this could be a way for these people to control me. I didn't know what to expect since I had seen so many unexpected things in this land.

 _"If that fucking thing really did leave something behind to make me go on a rampage, than I have to take the risk so that I don't get influenced to kill people,"_ I thought and I looked up to nod, showing people that I was giving consent.

The man with blond hair left his seat and carefully approached me, stopping in front of me and performing a single handsign.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" the man declared and everything went black as I felt a presence enter me.

The next thing I knew, I was inside a familiar precinct with the man, who was looking around in awe at seeing the inside of the building. I looked down at myself and saw that I was back to normal with my standard LAPD uniform and duty belt.

"This is what you look like as a human? Your clothes look very strange," the man observed while I was looking at my hands and clenching them.

"This is so strange...being human after staying in a different form," I remarked at the sudden change and the man took my shoulder so he could lead me.

As we were moving through the building, I spotted a mirror and saw my reflection- a clean shaven Caucasian man in his mid thirties with short red hair and blue eyes. As we kept walking, I felt the presence of the fox move through me and we were suddenly in a sewer system of some kind that lead into a large room with a enormous gate. We stopped and looked up at the gate, which had a paper tag covering the lock on the doors. We could hear soft growling coming from the shadows.

"What the hell...is this place?" I wondered as the man went close to the gates, and he quickly jumped back when giant claws came out of the gate to try and eviscerate the man.

I reacted by pulling out my beretta and aiming at the gates just as two blood colored eyes appeared and the darkness lifted to show us the large fox in all his glory.

 **"So, my legacy has deigned to grace me with his presence. How are you enjoying your new form?"** the fox asked me with a mocking grin and I started feeling pissed.

"Fuck you! I want some answers, you son of a bitch! What the hell did you do to me and how can I change back?!" I yelled at the monster, who laughed in amusement.

 **"Like I said human, I gave you a gift. Be thankful that I had decided to lower myself into making a human into my legacy. As for you changing back, why would I help you? You are fine as you are and I am never going to lower myself any further by helping a human,"** the fox sniffed as he laid down and simply stared at me with his blood red eyes.

"In case you haven't noticed asswipe, I'm no longer human thanks to you. There must be a reason why you destroyed my life like this. What am I and how do I become human again?" I demanded and the fox scoffed.

 **"Well, since you asked so kindly...you are something I like to call a Human Tailed Beast. You typically have my full power and shape, but you don't need to eat, drink, or sleep to survive, and you can't die since you are also immortal. If you do die, you will just reform though it will be a long and painful process. As for changing back into a human, you will need to figure that out on your own since I have already lowered enough of my dignity into helping you. And my reasons for doing this are my own, now leave me in peace,"** the fox stated as he turned his head away and closed his eyes.

I looked at the blond haired man, who was staring at the fox in surprise and he looked at me.

"Did you find anything?" I asked the man, who shook his head.

"No, I haven't found any signs that you could be influenced, so you're safe," the man informed me as I holstered my gun and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good," I muttered as I went over to the man, and he did his handsign again.

* * *

I woke up and looked at Naruto, who was snuggling in one of my tails and I laid down so that I could curl up around him to keep him warm.

"Have you found anything Inoichi?" Hiruzen asked the blond haired man.

"No, but I did discover something interesting while I was with Alex-san," Inoichi notified which caught everyone's attention.

"What did you find?" an obese man with long spiky hair asked.

"While we were in there, I discovered Alex-san's memories by accident and saw a world that was far different than ours. There were no shinobi or chakra, and technology has far surpassed ours. I also discovered that the fox was inside Alex-san's mind, but it was intelligent and speaking. It had a conversation with Alex-san and it told him that he was something called a Human Tailed Beast," Inoichi explained and everyone looked at him and me.

"This is an unexpected development...I never once considered that the fox was intelligent and that it could speak," a man with pale eyes and a stern expression mumbled as he looked thoughtful.

"This brings us to our next question. What happens to Alex-san now and what about the child he has with him?" the feral woman named Tsume asked.

"That child is the son of Kushina Uzumaki and his name is Naruto. Minato's dying wish is that the village sees this child as a hero for keeping the fox locked up. As for Alex-san, Minato also wanted the village to not see him as the fox or it's clone...we must honor Minato's dying wish. It's the least we could do for him," Hiruzen declared and some of the counsel started protesting.

"Lord Third! That child and the fox are monsters! It is obvious that the baby is the demon in human form and that the fox taking care of it is it's spawn! We must do something before they kill us all!" a gaunt looking man protested and Hiruzen shot a stern glare at him.

"You and everyone else will do no such thing! That baby is an innocent child and Alex-san is nothing more than a victim in all of this! From what Inoichi told us, Alex-san was taken from everything he ever knew and thrown into a situation he had no control over! Seeing as how everyone can't agree on this, I am enacting a law that forbids anyone from talking about the fox! This is a SS-rank secret that is penalty of death, and Alex-san will be taking care of Naruto from now on. If that is all, this meeting is adjourned," Hiruzen declared as he stood up and gestured me to follow him.

As we left the chamber, I wondered what would happen next since I was taking care of a baby and I also wondered what would the future would hold for me and Naruto.

* * *

A/N So, what do you all think about this chapter? I just wanted to say that I took some inspiration from the story Nine Tails Incarnate and that the part about Alex becoming a Tailed Beast with a human soul is an interesting concept I couldn't help but write down. Now, I just want to come out and say that I need help on changing the story a little bit while keeping it a little canon. Like Naruto getting stronger at a realistic pace and Sasuke turning out to be an okay guy while also growing strong in his own way. If any of you have any ideas, let me know either by review or contacting me by private messaging.


	2. Chapter 2

Tower 3, Training Ground 44, Hidden Leaf Village, Land Of Fire, Elemental Nations.

 **"And you're sure this Jiraiya person will figure out how to help me?"** I questioned Hiruzen. We were inside a place called Training Ground 44, aka The Forest Of Death, and as I waited for his answer, I was examining my tails.

"Jiraiya is known in this land as a great seal master and he's very familiar with the Fox...all we can do is hope that he will find a way to reverse this phenomenon and change you back," Hiruzen explained to me, but I didn't feel very hopeful and Hiruzen refused to tell me anything else about this "Jiraiya" while we waited, instead lapsing into silence.

As we waited for the person who would try and fix this situation I was currently trapped in, I looked at my arms and stared at the orange fur that was covering them, feeling angry and infuriated at the Fox for forcing me into this new form and I suddenly had dark thoughts about ripping him to shreds in a slow and agonizing manner.

 _"I'm gonna rip off his arms, eviscerate his eyes, and tear out his innards so that I can devour him while he's still alive... Wait-What? Holy shit, what the hell's wrong with me?! Why the fuck am I thinking about committing sadistic torture?!"_ I thought in horror and disgust, feeling truly disturbed since I was normally a lot calmer and more collected than this. I wondered if this whole thing was starting to get to me just as I heard the dark and familiar voice of the Fox inside my mind.

 _ **"Yes...give in to your delicious hate. Use it to ensure no one goes after you and the little brat,"**_ the Fox purred in sadistic glee. I recoiled at hearing the Fox so clearly in my mind and my eyes narrowed at his suggestion.

 _"Fuck you, jackass! I'll never be like you, you sick motherfucker!"_ I retorted in my mind and the Fox chuckled in a patronizing way.

 _ **"Why are you denying what you are? You are connected to me and the Village will never let you or the little brat walk the same streets they pollute with their foul monkey stench. Didn't you vow to protect Naruto? Kill them all before they have the chance to come after that child,"**_ the Fox whispered softly and I gritted my sharp teeth.

 _"Unlike you, I'm not a murderer. They're already terrified of me...I don't want to prove them right,"_ I reprimanded sternly and the Fox snarled in fury.

 _ **"Why the fuck are you so adamant on giving them a chance?! They'll always see you as either a monster or a weapon to be used until they throw you away like garbage! They'll always hate you for being the remainder of their losses and they will always come after you to exact revenge! Even if they won't succeed in killing you, they will go after the boy to spite you! You think you are in hell? Your suffering has only just begun, boy,"** _the Fox spat bitterly and then fell silent.

Hearing how bitter the Fox sounded and how hateful he was made me wonder why he was that way. Did the Village do something to him? There was no way for someone to hold such a serious grudge against the world unless they did something to really piss him off. I recalled the Fox saying something last night about being sealed up again just before he impaled me, which made me deduce that this wasn't the first time that the Nine-Tailed Fox was sealed in something or someone. Having come to that conclusion, I decided that once Jiraiya found a way to change me back, I would look up this world's history and see if I could find out anything about the Fox and where he had come from.

I was taken out of my thoughts when a big cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere with a "poof." As it cleared up, I saw the strangest sight. There was a middle-aged man sitting on a large toad. The man had white, waist-long, spiky hair tied up in a ponytail. He was wearing a green kimono and matching pants, mesh armor, hand guards, sandals and a black belt, underneath a red sleeveless coat. He had tattoos of red lines running from his eyes to his cheeks, and he wore a forehead protector with a kanji on the front. He had a large scroll strapped to his back.

"Jiraiya, you made it," Hiruzen greeted and the man nodded in return.

"I had to Sensei...when I received your message, I got here as fast as I could," Jiraiya said seriously and he looked at me as he observed, "So, this must be the human that was changed into a Nine-Tailed Fox."

 **"I am, and you must be Jiraiya. My name is Alex Winston. Hiruzen hasn't told me anything about you. Do you think you can help me?"** I inquired curiously and immediately had a feeling I would regret my question when Jiraiya grinned and struck a pose.

"Why, I'm glad you asked, my furry friend! I am the hermit of Mount Myoboku! The wise and immortal spirit, Jiraiya the gallant and great Toad Mountain Sage!" Jiraiya declared proudly.

 _"What...the hell? This is the man who's going to help reverse my transformation?"_ I thought with a sweat-drop and I saw Hiruzen sigh in exasperation while his left brow twitched.

"Jiraiya...can you dispense with the humor and please figure out a way to get Alex-san back to normal," Hiruzen suggested politely while looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here. Jiraiya looked sheepish as the toad he was posing on disappeared and he landed unceremoniously on the ground.

"Sorry Sensei, I just couldn't resist. On a serious note, we should get started. Alex, maybe you could fill me in on how it happened and I could start from there," Jiraiya offered and I nodded in agreement.

I told him everything about how the Fox had impaled me with his claw just as he was about to be sealed into Naruto. The Fox had called me his legacy while pouring nearly all of his chakra into my body, causing me to become what I am now. I also told Jiraiya about my conversation with the Fox after Inoichi took me into my mind, and that the Fox had told me that I was now something called a Human Tailed Beast, a creature that had the same shape and full power as the Fox and that I no longer needed to eat, sleep, or drink since I was now an infinite mass of chakra, which made me immortal and I couldn't die because of it. Once I was done, Jiraiya looked thoughtful and jotted down some notes in a book he had taken out of a pouch.

"Interesting...this is the first time I have heard something like this happen to a person, much less to someone that is not of this world..." Jiraiya trailed off in awe as my tails swayed around the room we were in and he asked, "What is it like? Being in the shape of a powerful Tailed Beast and holding all that power?"

 **"It...feels strange, but good. It feels so natural and it scares me that this power I carry inside me can cause so much death and destruction. So, can you reverse this?"** I inquired hopefully.

"I...don't know. Nothing like this has happened before and this might go beyond my expertise. There is still so much we don't know about the Fox, and any records that could explain this phenomenon might not exist or might have been lost to time. I'll keep searching for answers but I don't want to promise you that I'll find any. You might be trapped in that form forever and It's better that you are prepared for the worst than hope for the best," Jiraiya told me.

I felt my world shatter upon hearing that-having the knowledge that I could be stuck like this forever and I might never be able to live a normal life ever again. I didn't say anything but just ran out of the building, ignoring Hiruzen and Jiraiya's calls for me as I went into the forest to be alone. I ran for a while until I found myself in a clearing near a lake and I just sat and stared at my reflection in the water.

I examined myself by peering at my vulpine muzzle and tilting my head this way and that. I moved my long ears in different directions, amazed that I could hear practically everything for a great distance. I sniffed the air and discovered that my sense of smell had greatly increased along with my eyesight and hearing. I looked at my upper body and saw a powerful torso with a six-pack, muscular arms as if I had spent years working out, and clawed hands with animal paw-pads. I moved my shoulders around, feeling the muscles ripple below the fur. My lower body was canine-like, with strong back legs, digitigrade paws, and nine long beautiful flowing tails. I took hold of one of my tails, feeling how soft it was, and I looked back at my reflection.

Seeing that my body was half human and half fox, I tested a theory by standing up on my two back paws, and I discovered that I could stand perfectly upright like a person. At that moment, the reality of what had happened to me hit me suddenly and I felt my blood boil at how I was now a freak, and I reacted by letting out a roar of bloodthirsty rage and swiping at the reflection in an uncontrollable fit of fury and animalistic rage.

I wasn't thinking straight and lashing out at anything just to let out my pent-up negative emotions, splashing the water and turning to the trees nearby so that I could charge at them with claws slashing at the bark, carving deep gashes. As I roared, a red bubbling aura started coming off of me as I felt my fury grow, then something unexpected happened. I grew taller until I was tall as a skyscraper, the Fox's full size, and with that realization, I snapped out of it.

I looked down around me to see trees the size of tiny Lego blocks. I spotted the village nearby, looking like a toy model and I looked at my hands in despair.

 _"Why? Why me, dammit?! Why the fuck did this have to happen to me?! Why the fuck did I have to be cursed with this existence and the body of a monster?!"_ I thought in distress, then realized I was shrinking back down as and felt my body changing back into a familiar form.

Next thing I knew, I was standing on two feet and I looked into the lake to see that I was human again and at a normal size. I felt elated as I saw the familiar LAPD Metro SWAT uniform, and gear with my M4A1 carbine slung around my shoulder and my Kimber Custom TLE in my leg holster.

 _"Holy shit...how the hell did I do that?"_ I thought in awe, and the Fox spoke.

 _ **"Consider this my only time of helping you so that you would quit pissing me off with your tantrum,"**_ the Fox huffed. I felt surprised that he would lower his pride by helping me.

 _"Um...thanks...I guess?"_ I thought to him uncertainly and he scoffed.

 _ **"I didn't do it for you, I only did it because I was having a nice nap and your disgusting tantrum woke me up. I helped you just this once so that you would shut the hell up. Now, if you want to change form, just focus on using my power and you should be able to do it as easy as breathing. Now let me sleep,"**_ the Fox snapped in irritation just as Hiruzen and Jiraiya rushed into plain view.

"Alex! What in the name of Kami happened?! When we saw a mountain-sized fox with nine tails appear, we feared the worst had happened!" Hiruzen questioned frantically as Jiraiya looked at me in wonder.

"So, this is what you look like as a human? How did you manage to change back?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"You can thank the Fox for that...so, people saw me, didn't they?" I asked hesitantly and I felt my bad mood getting worse when Jiraiya looked at me with a deadpan expression.

"Alex, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole village and nearby towns saw you grow into a gargantuan size," Jiraiya stated dryly and I hung my head as depression lines appeared above me.

"Well...isn't that just fucking perfect..." I muttered unhappily as I took off my helmet and ran a hand through my short red hair as I asked, "So, what now?"

"What we need to do is calm the villagers before most of them panic from seeing you grow into the monster that nearly destroyed the village," Hiruzen said as I put my helmet back on and we headed through the forest back to the village.

* * *

After that fiasco, Hiruzen managed to calm the villagers by reassuring them that everything was under control and before I knew it, a whole year had passed by and I had learned much during my time in this new life I found myself in. It was a struggle adjusting to this new world and its customs while caring for an infant. To those that say it isn't easy being a father, I agree with them since I had to look after Naruto's basic needs. Changing diapers and cleaning up the puke wasn't fun, but I grew to care for the child and love him like he was my own son.

While I was taking care of Naruto, I was also learning about my newly dubbed "fox form" and the abilities that came with it. I spent time researching the village's history to see if I could find any intel on the Fox and where he came from. Once, when I was testing out my new form in a place far enough from the village to ensure its safety, I discovered that I could form a purple ball and fire it like a projectile and cause a massive explosion, as I had seen the Fox do. I vowed to myself not to use this attack unless it was for dire emergencies. While I was training, the Fox would always taunt me, especially when I screwed something up. He would say that he was embarrassed to even have me as his legacy and that I would fail to protect Naruto. I ignored his mocking and kept pushing on.

As for looking into the village's history, there was not a lot of information on the Fox other than he was described as an unstoppable force of nature that would cause disaster wherever he went. The books talked about how he was able to cause tsunamis and earthquakes with a single swipe of one of his tails and that he was used by a man called Madara Uchiha in a fight against the village's founder Hashirama Senju. I also learned that after Madara was killed, the Fox was sealed into a woman called Mito Uzumaki and Mito was declared the village's first Jinchuriki for years until she transferred the Fox into a little girl called Kushina Uzumaki. I was shocked that Naruto's mother had been a vessel for the Fox and this new revelation made me wonder how the Fox had escaped and found its way into the village.

After learning that the Fox had been sealed up twice, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him since no one deserves to be locked up like an animal and used as a weapon many times. It was no wonder why the Fox was so angry and hateful at everything since going through that form of hell would make anyone hateful at the world around them.

While I was gathering intel, I noticed that the Fox was snarling in rage when I saw the name Madara Uchiha and the kind of anger and bloodlust coming from him made me wonder what had happened that day for the Fox to hold such a grudge against Madara.

As for the villagers, I was treated like a monster wherever I took Naruto anywhere and I felt disappointment for the people that were unable to move on past their grief and could only see Naruto and me as the reminders of who they lost and what had caused it.

One day while training, I found out I could make my tails appear while I was in human form and I was amazed at how dexterous they were. I also discovered that I could extend them to incredible lengths which would be very useful if I needed to fight at a distance, and having multiple tails helped whenever I wanted to grab many things at once.

It was not until a year later that I decided to talk to the Fox so that I could get a better understanding of who he is and propose that we cooperate with each other.

* * *

(Alex's Mindscape)

 **"Well now, my legacy has decided to show up. Whatever you have to say, I'm not interested so you can fuck off,"** the Fox stated as he stared at me from inside his cage with a bored expression, laying in a leisurely prone position while resting his head in his hand lazily.

"Look, I'm just gonna get to the point...you don't like me and I don't like you, but the reason why I'm here is that I'm asking for your cooperation," I explained and the Fox roared in laughter at my statement as he sat up.

 **"Hahahaha! You...wanting my cooperation? Why the hell would I want to do that? And what fucking reason do you have for offering this?"** the Fox questioned snidely while sneering at me, and I sighed in irritation.

"Look, I know why you are so pissed at everything and I don't blame you since I looked up this village's history and discovered that you had been sealed twice and used as a weapon. If it was me, I would be past the point of being pissed off and wanting blood. As for my reasons why is because you know my new form better than anyone else on the planet, so It's only logical that we cooperate with each other instead of being at each other's throats all the time...you might be very prideful but you are most certainly not stupid. There is no way that you were able to escape from Kushina's seal unless something happened that night, which makes me think that something is going on behind the scenes and someone else is quite possibly involved. We don't have to like each other, but even you understand that us antagonizing each other is strategically unwise," I reasoned and the Fox grudgingly agreed.

 **"As much as I hate to admit it...you have a damn point, human. Very well...we'll cooperate, but only if you agree to a few terms,"** the Fox stated and I paid attention.

"I'm listening," I said and the Fox looked at me.

 **"As we are cooperating, you are to listen to what I say whenever we are in danger and follow my instructions. You are my legacy and I'll be damned if my reputation will be tarnished because you managed to get yourself killed on my watch. Second is that once the time comes, I want to be freed from this damn seal when the brat passes on from this life. And finally, I want you to find and eviscerate Madara Uchiha in the most agonizingly way possible,"** the Fox laid out reasonable terms, but I was confused about the last one.

"Madara Uchiha? But I thought he was dead since the history books state that he died in the battle against Hasirama Senju. If he survived, he would have to be a hundred years old by now," I pointed out in confusion.

 **"History can always be altered to make the victors look better, and I know that fucking Uchiha is alive because he was the one who ripped me from my previous container and coerced me to attack the village with those damn eyes of his. Now, are you going to agree to my terms? Because you can forget my cooperation if you don't,"** the Fox declared and I nodded.

"It's a deal, and my name is Alex Winston," I stated and the Fox huffed.

 **"I couldn't give a shit what your name is, and you are a baka if you think I would tell you my name. You haven't earned the right to know my name, so don't even think about asking me for it,"** the Fox sniffed as he laid down and rested his head on his arms like a pillow.

I knew that was all I was going to get from him and I nodded in understanding, leaving my mindscape and waking up to hearing Naruto crying.

 _"A father's work is never done,"_ I thought dryly as I left my bedroom and headed to Naruto's room to see what was wrong.

* * *

A/N Another chapter is done. For those of you who might think that Alex is overpowered, he can get hurt or killed if he's not careful. Now, my question is if you all want Alex to be on Team 7 as a sensei working alongside Kakashi. Let me know by putting your answer down as a review or private message.


	3. Chapter 3

Hidden Leaf Village, Land Of Fire, Elemental Nations.

It has been two years since the Fox and I made a deal to cooperate and he had been training me to use my new form and chakra. As for Naruto, he has grown into a mischievous three-year-old with a habit of pranking people who wronged me or him in one way or another. Bless that boy for always pushing through the glares and the quiet insults with a beaming grin and happy go lucky attitude. I knew that it was all a front to cope with us being treated like the plague but I was always there for him when it got too stressful or I would find him in his room sobbing.

Hiruzen managed to procure an apartment for me and Naruto to live in when the boy was one year old and we had lived there ever since. We weren't taking anything for granted and I shot warning glances at anyone with a weapon who tried to get too close. I once approached Hiruzen about looking for a job so that I could provide for Naruto and he wanted to know what kind of skill set I had. I explained that I used to be in a U.S. military spec ops division called the 75th Ranger Regiment and that I was also in charge of a police tactical unit that got involved in highly risky calls uniformed officers weren't able to handle. After I explained my skill set of marksmanship, CQC, leadership, stealth, small unit tactics, medical proficiency, and quick mobility, Hiruzen had taken me to a field called Training Ground 7 and I described what kind of kill house was needed to demonstrate my skills. Hiruzen agreed and he prepared the training ground to my specifications and gathered the clan heads to watch my demonstration.

I was stacked up in front of a door and waiting for the order to breach and clear while Hiruzen and the others stood nearby to watch and evaluate my skills.

"Ready...start!" ordered a ninja academy teacher and I kicked the door open.

I tossed in a flashbang and waited for it to go off so that I could move swiftly inside.

"Police! Search warrant!" I announced as I entered and aimed my rifle, sweeping the entire room.

Seeing no threats, I went through a hallway and checked different rooms, taking down ninjas that were a product of the shadow clone jutsu and rescuing simulated hostages along the way. I stopped at the last door and took out my optiwand under door viewer so that I could look for threats before opening the door. Seeing three hostiles with two hostages, I put the optiwand away, took out a set of lockpicks, and unlocked the door. I put the lockpicks away and took out a smoke grenade, opened the door slightly, pulled the pin, and rolled the grenade across the floor and quickly closed the door.

I heard the grenade go off and the clones start reacting to the smoke, so I burst through the door and aimed my rifle at all three of them in turn.

"Police! Hands up and get down on the ground!" I ordered. The hostiles raised their hands and got down on their knees.

I tossed two zipties at one of the hostiles and ordered him to restrain the other two face down on the ground. Once the two hostiles were secured, I ordered the third to get down and I restrained him myself. Taking the two hostages, I navigated back out of the building to safety. I could see the looks of awe and approval on Hiruzen and the other onlookers.

"How was it?" I asked Hiruzen.

"Incredible...you would make a fine shinobi with your skills. Has everyone decided what kind of career Alex can pursue?" Hiruzen asked everyone else, who all began speaking excitedly with their observations and recommendations.

* * *

After my demonstration, it was decided that I could be a shinobi since my skills are best suited for combat. I was to be instructed in the ways of the Elemental Nations and ninja skills in general. I was taught the fundamentals of chakra, the history and politics of the Elemental Nations, its villages, and everything else while I was also being taught by the Fox about my new chakra and form. I discovered that I could form different chakra cloaks while I was in my human form. When I formed into the four-tailed cloak, the power flowing through me was amazing and I found that I could extend my arms to great lengths while also forming more chakra arms.

The Fox explained that I had two versions of the cloak. Version 1 is when I formed a dense shroud of red bubbling chakra all over me that could go from 1 tail to 4 tails. In these forms, I was much stronger, faster and more vicious in combat while my appearance changed to hair that was wilder, blood red eyes with slit pupils, and developed sharp teeth and claws. Version 2 is more interesting since I can envelop my body in a dark red layer of chakra and look much more inhuman with powerful strength and ability to form those purple balls of destruction.

When I asked the Fox about those attacks, he explained that they were called Tailed Beast Bombs-projectiles that had the ability to destroy an entire town or a large city if I gathered enough chakra. I also discovered that I could use my chakra to turn a roar and the movement of my arms into a powerful force of destruction that could flatten mountains and form massive shock waves if I hit the ground with a fist.

As I was learning about everything this world had to offer, one day I was hailed a hero by the shinobi for saving someone. There was an ambassador from a foreign village that showed up to sign a peace treaty and I had no idea at the time that it was all a front to kidnap a child from a clan.

* * *

I didn't know what to think about the Ambassador and his guards, but something about them rubbed me the wrong way. Years of experience as a cop taught me that not everything is what it seems.

 _"Hell with it...I'm taking a walk to clear my head,"_ I thought as I left the Hokage's office and went outside the building.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting and it became nightfall quickly. Concerned, I quickly headed home because I was afraid that Naruto would be worried about where I was.

 _"God, I'm such a dumbass! What the hell were you thinking, Alex?!"_ I scolded myself as I passed a store window and I saw myself in my LAPD uniform and duty belt.

I was passing the Hyuga compound when I noticed a figure leaping over the stone wall and starting to run, the man in black carrying a little girl in one arm.

"What the hell..." I trailed off in confusion until my eyes widened in realization that I had just witnessed a kidnapping and I shouted, "Hey! Stop where you are!"

The man saw me as he looked back and I couldn't tell who he was because he was wearing a mask. I didn't dwell on it for long as I chased after him, pulling out my baton and keeping up. As the man kept running, I used my chakra to move even faster and send the man to the ground with a spear tackle to his midsection, forcing the man to drop the girl. As she fell, I formed a few of my tails to catch her and gently lower her to the ground. The man elbowed me in the face and I retaliated by giving him a hit to his ribs with my baton and a large gash in the face with my claws. Underneath the tatters of his mask, I saw a foreign ninja headband. Seeing that the man was an enemy ninja, I restrained him by extending my tails and rendering him immobile as I sent out a burst of chakra to alert anyone that was nearby. Having received my message, Hiashi Hyuga of the main branch of the Hyuga clan, quickly showed up with many other ninjas to find me pinning down an enemy ninja and keeping a little girl a safe distance away.

"Hinata! What is the meaning of this and what happened?!" Hiashi demanded as he quickly went over to Hinata to check on her.

"I can answer that. I was heading home when I saw this man leaping out of the compound and fleeing the area. When I saw Hinata with him, I knew that it was a kidnapping and I managed to restrain him. Imagine my surprise when I destroyed his mask and discovered that our kidnapper is the Ambassador of the Hidden Cloud Village. I wonder what the Fourth Raikage has to say about this," I said as the man kept struggling, but my tails were as strong as steel and he wasn't having any luck.

"He's lying! I was celebrating the treaty on the main street when this thing came and kidnapped me! Make him release me before he eats me!" the Ambassador cried out, causing Hiashi to scowl as I lifted the man and Hiashi backhanded him across the face.

"Spare me your accusations! We are taking you to the T&I department and they will get the truth from you!" Hiashi declared as the compound guards moved to block the captive man's chakra points so that I could release him into Hiashi's custody.

"Damn you all! You and your fucking pet will regret this, you damn Hyuga!" the cloud ninja threatened as he was taken away. Hiashi merely scoffed as he turned to look at me.

"I need to go to the Hokage and make sure that dishonorable man is locked up for his crimes. Alex, I am truly grateful you saved my daughter, thank you," Hiashi said gratefully while bowing his head in respect.

"Of course. I'm glad to help," I said as I gently picked up Hinata, carried her in my arms, and went back to the Hyuga compound.

* * *

Following that incident, the Fourth Raikage himself came to the village to answer for his ambassador's crimes. To our surprise, Raikage A, appearing angry, killed the ninja in front of us, declaring him a traitor. Apparently, the so-called Ambassador was acting on the behest of a small, secret collection of Cloud council members, who were still carrying on the bloodline obsessed ways of A's father.

In order to keep my status as a Human Tailed Beast a secret from the Hidden Cloud Village, Hiruzen and the Leaf council presented Hiashi as the one who captured the rogue ninja and A thanked the man for sparing his life so that a political backlash could be avoided. To show his gratitude, the Raikage reaffirmed the terms for the treaty and gave a small monetary gift to the Hyuga as an apology before leaving.

As soon as the Raikage was gone, Hiruzen announced that I was the one who had saved Hinata, which earned me much praise from the Leaf ninja and bitter scoffs from the civilians. To reward me for my good deed, I was given payment for a solo S-rank mission and had the mission placed on my official Shinobi record. When I got the payment, my eyes bulged in disbelief at all the zeros and I could see that I had enough yen to provide for me and Naruto for years if I spent it responsibly.

I was happy that I had uncovered a conspiracy and saved a little girl from a horrible fate in the process, but little did I know that I was going to bear witness to a tragic incident two years from now.

* * *

A/N So, how did you all like the change I made to the Naruto universe? Now, I need help on how many members of the Uchiha clan survive the massacre and how Alex encounters Obito. If any of you have any ideas, let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

Hidden Leaf Village, Land Of Fire, Elemental Nations.

"Tou-chan, C'mon!" Naruto shouted as he rushed ahead and I hurried after him.

"Slow down, Naruto! We'll get to Ramen Ichiraku, but please be patient," I stated as I managed to catch up.

 _ **"Brat certainly has a shit ton of energy,"**_ I heard the Fox remark dryly and I chuckled softly.

 _"Yeah...he's definitely something alright,"_ I thought back to him fondly as Naruto and I arrived at the restaurant.

When we entered the restaurant, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame smiled when they saw us.

"Ah! Alex and Naruto. How are you two this evening? Same order as last time?" Teuchi asked eagerly.

"Of course. Thank you," I said.

"No problem. One miso ramen and one pork ramen coming up," Teuchi declared with a hearty grin and he went into the kitchen to make us our orders.

Two more years had passed since I saved Hinata Hyuga, and I have spent them completing missions as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. Throughout these two years as a shinobi, I had been completing missions that went from D-rank to S-rank, and I have gained the title 'The Shadow Of Death' due to my ability in accomplishing assassination missions without being seen and was placed on the Bingo Book as an S-rank bounty with either kill or flee on sight orders. As for Naruto, he had been pranking to keep his spirits up and even though I should've stopped him, I let Naruto keep doing it for two reasons. One is that it keeps him happy and it cheers him up whenever things get too stressful, and I just couldn't frown upon something harmless that made him happy. Second is that it was a surprisingly excellent training method to prepare him for whenever he decides to enter the academy. When I once explained this to Naruto, he probably redoubled his efforts in pranks. If he could continue to come up with ingenious pranks and mischievous plans, targeting only shinobi and able to escape the shinobi, he would become a master of escape. Not to mention it would seriously improve his stealth if he was able to stay unseen by shinobi while wearing such a bright color like orange.

And it allowed his more imaginative and creative spirit to run amuck, something all shinobi would need in combat. I didn't doubt that because of his prankster ways, he would become a brilliant tactician as a shinobi.

"So Tou-chan, do you think I would become Hokage?" Naruto inquired after our ramen was finished cooking and we started eating.

"Well, son. If you want to become Hokage, you would need to work really hard for it. The Hokage is known as the wisest and most experienced, and they know virtue, honor, wisdom, and are most skilled in jutsu and combat. When you do enter the academy, do you know what area you want to specialize in?" I asked and Naruto tilted his head while looking at me curiously.

"Huh?" Naruto inquired in confusion.

"Okay, let me explain. There are different types of shinobi that range from tracker, frontal assault, defenders, strategists, and many more. To become Hokage, you have to start off small and work your way up. So, have you thought about what kind of career you want to start off?" I asked again and Naruto looked uncertain.

"Um...well...no," Naruto replied hesitantly and I placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry, kiddo. You have a whole two years to think about it so take your time in making a decision, though my opinion is that you would be great in frontal assault," I assured him.

"Hmm...I dunno. What do the Hokages do?" Naruto asked me.

"They're mostly frontal attackers in general, but the Fourth Hokage was great in support as well...I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it?" I answered him while I frowned at his question and took it into consideration.

After we were done with eating, I paid Teuchi and we started heading back home just as it was getting dark. As we passed the Uchiha compound, I stopped at the front gates when I caught a powerful coppery scent and I could've sworn I heard a scream coming from somewhere inside the compound.

"Tou-chan? What's wrong?" Naruto questioned as I realized that the scent was blood and I tensed up.

I didn't say anything but just put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, using the Body Flicker Technique to transport us to the inside of our apartment. I knelt down right in front of him with my hands on his shoulders.

"Naruto, listen to me very carefully. There is something very bad happening tonight and I need to investigate what's going on. Stay inside the apartment and do not go outside for any reason," I instructed with a serious expression.

"Why, Tou-chan? What's happening?" Naruto asked me nervously.

"I can't explain, but I really need you to stay here. If you hear someone knocking on the front door, don't open it unless you are absolutely sure it's me. Remember the passphrase I taught you if something bad happens?" I asked him.

"Hai...the passphrase is Rangers lead the way," Naruto recited and I nodded.

"Exactly. Always remember that whenever something happens and if someone knocks on the door, ask them for the passphrase. If the person doesn't say it or doesn't know what you are talking about, then do not open the door, understand?" I asked and Naruto nodded.

I stood up and body flickered back to the Uchiha compound, heading to the front gates and cautiously entering the compound as I pulled out my Kimber Custom. I kept my gun raised, moving through the compound and checking corners, turning onto a street and freezing up at the horrific sight before me.

"Oh my fucking God..." I breathed out in a combination of shock, horror, and disbelief as I saw the carnage before me.

The street was littered with bodies and soaked with blood, the liquid covering the streets and the building walls in a morbid canvas. Seeing the Kuni and other weapons on the ground, I deduced that these poor bastards put up one hell of a fight before being slaughtered.

 _"Christ...this is a massacre. What the hell happened and how did it happen without anyone noticing?"_ I thought and the Fox spoke up.

 ** _"I don't know but stay alert...I'm sensing a familiar chakra and it's making me want to tear someone apart,"_ **the Fox notified me tensely.

I kept moving until I found myself at the front of the military police headquarters and I saw a figure with long black spiky hair, wearing an orange spiral mask with one eye hole. I saw the man was about to execute a woman wrapped in chains with a Kuni and I aimed at him.

"Freeze! Drop the weapon and keep your hands where I can see them!" I announced sternly and just as the man went to look at me, I flinched when the Fox started shouting.

 ** _"Don't make eye contact! Look away, now!"_** the Fox demanded urgently with a little bit of fear in his voice.

 _"Who is that? Do you know him?"_ I questioned as I kept myself from making eye contact.

 _ **"That's Madara Uchiha! He's the fucking bastard who ripped me from Kushina and forced me to nearly destroy the village with his damn Sharingan! You are a Tailed Beast like me, so he can control you if he wanted to!"**_ the Fox informed me with rage and hatred in his voice.

I was instantly on guard since I knew now that I had the weakness of being controlled by that man.

"Well, what do we have here? I can sense the Nine-Tails chakra coming from you but you aren't a Jinchuriki. Who are you?" the masked man questioned in a deep and powerful voice.

"I won't tell you again! Drop the weapon and let her go or I will use lethal force! This is your last warning!" I warned the man and he chuckled.

"This is unexpected, but how fortunate that we just happen to encounter each other on this night. You've made my job easy...oh well, I'll just have to get the Jinchuriki after you are in my custody," the masked man stated as he turned to me and my eyes narrowed since I knew that he was talking about Naruto.

"Stop! I will shoot!" I threatened the man but he ignored me.

"You are coming with me, Nine-Tails!" the man stated and he shockingly vanished in a split-second.

 _"What the fuck?! So fast!"_ I thought in disbelief.

 _ **"Alex, Move!"**_ the Fox instructed just as the man appeared right in front of me to grab me.

Thinking fast, I called upon my chakra and the man was sent flying back by the explosion of power that erupted from me. Instantly, my eyes turned red with slit pupils, my nails and teeth turned razor sharp, and I dashed over and grabbed the girl in chains, carefully slinging her over my shoulder and rushing to the entrance. I knew that I had to get this girl to safety and keep my distance from this man since he could teleport in a second to grab me. The good thing was that my chakra could be felt across the village, so reinforcements of every on-duty ANBU and shinobi would be fast approaching this location at top speed.

"You can't escape me, Nine-Tails!" the masked man declared as he appeared right in front of me unexpectedly.

"Shit!" I exclaimed in panic and I fired my gun with one shot.

I was terrified when the bullet went through the man's center of mass like he was intangible and I flipped over the man to prevent being grabbed.

 _"Fuck! My gun is useless against him! What the hell do I do?!"_ I thought frantically.

 _ **"Just run!"**_ the Fox ordered just as a Kuni came flying at the masked man's head.

The Kuni connected but it passed through the man's head just as multiple ANBU landed in the area and rushed at the masked man, forcing him to retreat by disappearing in a warped space that appeared around him.

"This isn't over," the man vowed as he vanished and I took the time to let out a shaky breath I was holding in.

I withdrew my chakra just as I was freeing the woman and I looked at the black ops operatives, who were looking around and spreading out into pairs so that they could investigate the compound.

 _"Something tells me that man will be back,"_ I thought grimly as the woman was being checked out by medic-nin.

* * *

After being checked out by medic-nin, I was taken to Hiruzen so that I could explain what had happened for me to resort to using my chakra and I told him everything.

"So, someone wearing a mask was about to execute a woman and you tried to get him to surrender, but he didn't comply. The man attacked you and your weapon didn't work on him so you were forced to retreat because of the woman and that's when you had to use your chakra to get the woman to safety, correct?" Hiruzen asked as we were inside the hospital and heading to the room that the survivors of the Uchiha massacre were staying in.

"Yeah, but he knew what I was just by looking at me. I don't know who that man was but he somehow got into the village and killed nearly every member of the Uchiha Clan without anyone noticing. How the hell is that possible?" I wondered and I saw Hiruzen looking like he was hiding something, which made me question him.

"That look on your face...do you know something? Please Hiruzen, if you know how this happened, then tell me," I persuaded him and Hiruzen sighed as we approached the hospital room and I saw Danzo Shimura, and the other clan heads.

"Alex. It is good to see you, though I wish it were under better circumstances," Hiashi greeted and I bowed my head in return.

"Same here, Lord Hiashi," I replied somberly as Hiruzen gestured everyone to follow him.

We all went into the room next to the Uchihas' room and Hiruzen put up privacy seals.

"What I am about to tell all of you must not leave this room. Only Alex, the Elder Council, and the Shinobi Council are to be aware of this. Since the Uchiha were accused of the Nine-Tails attack five years ago, they have been losing popularity and power among all groups within the village, excluding the civilians who trusted them as their law enforcement. Not only that, but after the Hyuga affair two years ago, some have been making rumors that the Uchiha helped the rogue cloud ninja as a way of weakening their greatest rival clan. There was no evidence to make this anything more than a vicious rumor, but it still had an effect," Hiruzen explained.

"And so, with their power weakening, the Uchiha Clan made a decision. They planned a Coup d'etat against the Hidden Leaf Village," Danzo continued and we all widened our eyes in shock.

"No way! Why the hell would Fugaku allow such a thing?! There is no way the Uchiha could win against the whole village!" Choza half-yelled in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, the Uchiha had felt that they were driven into a corner. I had been in negotiations with them to try and make them see reason, but I could not give them what they wanted; namely a much larger influence in the village, seniority over the other clans, and Alex himself," Hiruzen stated, causing me to look at him with wide eyes.

"What?! They wanted me?" I questioned in shock.

"Yes. They felt that as the Nine-Tails' legacy, you were responsible for the actions of the old one and by extension, the beginning of their steadily decreasing power. They wanted you as a weapon to rebuild their power and naturally, we refused," Danzo answered as he patted my shoulder with his good arm.

"So, what exactly happened tonight?" Inoichi asked.

"What happened was that one of the few loyalist Uchiha; Itachi Uchiha, took it upon himself to save the village from the Uchiha Coup. He did this by massacring the entire clan, and we also know from Alex's testimony that he had an unknown accomplice helping him. Only Mikoto, Izumi, and Sasuke were spared and that was because of Alex and the ANBU's intervention, forcing Itachi and the masked accomplice to retreat. Itachi and his accomplice have since fled the village and we have our best ANBU in pursuit, but the chances of capturing them, alive or dead, is nil at this point," Hiruzen answered with a hollow tone as he looked out the window with a grim expression.

Everyone just stared silently at the floor and I started thinking about this whole tragedy. The Uchiha planned to use me as a weapon but I couldn't hate them or curse the dead after what had just happened. Those that weren't involved in the Coup like innocent men, women, and children were butchered senselessly and I vowed to myself that I would drag their killers back here so that they would face justice for their crimes.

"Can I see the survivors so that I can show our support?" I asked quietly.

Hiruzen smiled and nodded, releasing the privacy seals so that we all could leave the room. When I approached next door, I knocked on it and heard someone telling me to come in. I opened the door and saw the three survivors looking worse for wear. Mikoto was sitting in a chair next to her son's bed, a few bandages wrapped around her arms and one on her cheek. Izumi was on her right, looking bruised but not too bad and Sasuke was sitting upright in bed and staring at his hands with a dark expression, clearly looking traumatized with bloodshot eyes and tear stains on his cheeks.

"Alex-san, it's good to see you. Thank you for coming to see us," Mikoto said with a weak smile.

"It's no problem, I just wanted to be here so that I could show support. Lord Third and the other clan heads send their regards," I informed them while my hands were resting on my duty belt, and Izumi perked up.

"Well...we're glad that they are thinking about us and showing their support as well," Izumi said gratefully.

"Of course...how are you all holding up?" I asked tentatively and I saw Sasuke bristle.

"Our entire family has just been murdered by a traitor! How do you think we are holding up?!" Sasuke snapped angrily.

"Sasuke, it's not Alex's fault. He's just trying to be considerate," Mikoto scolded gently.

"Your mother is right, Sasuke. You should apologize," Izumi added a little firmly.

"If he wants to be considerate, he should offer his Tailed Beast Power to help us get revenge!" Sasuke scoffed and I frowned at him.

"I'm not going to do that. Revenge is never the answer and I don't want to prove to the villagers that I'm a monster," I stated firmly.

"You are already a monster, you might as well be useful!" Sasuke yelled in grief and fury.

I stared at the kid in sympathy, knowing just how he felt as memories of Mogadishu and seeing coffins of my dead friends ran through my mind.

"I'm just gonna go now," I stated, causing Mikoto and Izumi to look at me sorrowfully.

"Alex...he didn't mean that," Mikoto told me and I nodded.

"I know...the kid's been through a horrible tragedy and he's still trying to process it. I don't blame him at all, but please make sure that he talks to somebody, because he could really use a friend right now," I said, and Mikoto nodded as I turned to the door and left the room.

 _"Nine-Tails,"_ I said to the Fox and felt his presence.

 ** _"What the hell do you want?"_** the Fox inquired in anticipation.

 _"When we find that sick fucker with the mask on his face...I'm going to make him suffer badly before we drag him and Itachi back here,"_ I vowed to him coldly and the Fox chuckled sinisterly.

 ** _"For once, I agree with you, Alex,"_** the Fox stated with glee as I left the hospital, the two of us eager to lay out righteous fury against the man in the mask for causing so much death and suffering these past five years.

* * *

A/N Well, Alex is pissed so Obito better start praying that he doesn't find him. How did you all like the chapter? Let me know by putting down a review or sending me a private message.


	5. Chapter 5

Hidden Leaf Village, Land Of Fire, Elemental Nations.

"Naruto! We're going to be late!" I called out after I packed Naruto's lunch and waited for him.

"I'm coming, Tou-chan!" Naruto responded as he left his room and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon kiddo, we have to get to the Academy or we're going to be late. You don't want to make an impression of being a slacker, do you?" I asked while we left the apartment and headed to the Academy.

"Well...no, I guess," Naruto muttered with a frown and I ruffled his spiky blond hair, earning a complaint from him.

"That's right. If you want to be Hokage, then you must be punctual and always pay attention in class. One more thing, be respectful to your teachers and your fellow peers. If you do that, who knows, maybe you'll make a few friends in the process," I lectured calmly just as we were approaching the Academy building.

For the past two years, I had been preparing Naruto by teaching him hand to hand combat and lecturing him on how to be polite, but I let him keep pranking just to keep his spirits up and get back at those who wronged us. Whenever I would see the whisker marks on his cheeks, I thought back to that night seven years ago and how my life had rapidly changed from a SWAT officer to a Human Tailed Beast with a huge responsibility.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" I asked when I saw my adopted son's nose crinkling at the scent of dogs that were nearby.

"I'm just smelling the new scents, Tou-chan. I think I smell lots of dogs...is there a pound nearby, Tou-chan?" Naruto inquired and I laughed quietly.

"Not really kiddo, but I think you might be smelling the Inuzuka Clan. The Clan Head's son will be starting the Academy today as well," I explained and Naruto looked at me with wide and innocent eyes.

"Really?! That sounds awesome, ya know!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement.

"It sure does. Well, this is where we part ways for today," I stated as we arrived at the Academy.

While we approached, I saw shinobi looking at me and they nodded in respect, their kids also looking up at me with eyes wide in amazement. I didn't blame them since I had become well known among the shinobi as a respectable and fierce ninja with the power and shape of a Tailed Beast. It was then that an Academy teacher with his hair tied in a ponytail and a scar on the bridge of his nose stepped forward.

"Alex-san, I take it that this is Naruto-Kun?" the man known as Iruka inquired.

"Yes he is Iruka," I clarified and knelt down in front of Naruto with my hands on his shoulders, saying, "Okay Naruto, I'm going to go now so be on your best behavior, alright?"

"Hai," Naruto agreed and I ruffled his hair as I stood up.

I turned around and waved one final time over my shoulder as I walked away, hoping that things would go well and that nothing bad would happen.

* * *

Five years later. Training Ground 7, (Alex's Mindscape)

 **"So, the boy's been in the Academy for five years now,"** the Fox remarked as I sat against the bars of his cage.

"God...has it really been five years? It seemed like it was only yesterday when I started raising him...I know I can't age anymore, but hearing that makes me feel old," I commented as I looked back and the Fox huffed in amusement.

 **"Oh please, your lifespan is nothing compared to mine. When you have lived in this fucked up world for as long as I have, time doesn't hold any meaning anymore,"** the Fox stated and I raised a brow.

"That reminds me. We've been cooperating for twelve years now and I still barely know anything about you. Now, if there are things you want to keep to yourself, I won't pry since everyone is entitled to their secrets and you are no different. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about yourself so that we would better understand each other," I suggested and the Fox sighed.

 **"Fine...but just know that there are some things I'm still keeping to myself, understand?"** the Fox told me and I nodded in understanding just as he explained, **"The first thing you need to know is that you and I are not the only Tailed Beasts on this planet. There are eight others that are out there, but they have been sealed up into humans like I have. They each have their own unique personalities but there is one that I am loath to talk about 'cause he is a psychotic asshole. Another thing is that my fellow Tailed Beasts and I have existed in this world for hundreds of years, so you could say that we are a thousand years old by now."**

"A thousand years old...damn, you most certainly look good for your age," I remarked in disbelief and the Fox puffed up his chest in pride while he rose to his full impressive height.

 **"Of course I look good, and my tails show just how powerful I am, since I am the strongest of my fellow Tailed Beasts. And since you are my legacy, you are just as powerful as I am but you lack in the experience I have. One more thing-considering that you told me all about your life about a month ago and that we have been cooperating for twelve years, I think it's only fair that you have earned the right to ask my name,"** the Fox stated with a smirk, and I was surprised that he trusted me enough to ask his name.

"Really? So what is your name? Cause calling you by your true name is much better than calling you something demeaning like Fox or Nine-Tails," I pointed out and the Fox chuckled.

 **"That's a very good point, and my name is Kurama. Keep in mind that I'm only telling you my name because I now see you worthy of knowing it. Don't prove me wrong in making this decision, Alex,"** Kurama stated and I nodded seriously just as I felt a presence outside my mindscape.

"Seems like someone is coming. I have to go, Kurama," I said and he nodded.

 **"Go then, Alexander Christopher Winston. Prove to the world that you are worthy of being my legacy!"** Kurama declared and I responded by showing him a two finger salute as I left my mindscape.

* * *

I withdrew from my meditation to see Iruka standing before me, looking none too happy.

"Iruka, why are you coming to see me? Can I help you with something?" I asked in confusion.

"The reason why I'm here is that Naruto skipped class and he had the bright idea to vandalize the Hokage stone faces by painting them with graffiti," Iruka grumbled in irritation and my eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?! Why the hell did he do that?! What possessed that kid to do something so disrespectful?!" I questioned in shock.

"I don't know, but Naruto's currently being chased by other shinobi and I wanted to come and get you so that we could drag him back to the Academy," Iruka explained as I got up and brushed myself off.

"Hell yes, I'm going to drag him back to the Academy! What the fuck was that kid thinking?! He is most definitely going to hear it from me when we get our hands on him!" I vowed angrily as we left Training Ground 7 and went to search for Naruto.

As we rushed throughout the village, I saw the Hokage mountain with Naruto's handiwork on it and I shook my head at the gall that kid had. Just then, I spotted Naruto managing to avoid being caught by using a disguise against a wooden fence. Laughing, he removed the cover, not knowing that Iruka and I stood right behind him with stern glares and our hands on our hips.

"Ha! That was too easy!" Naruto declared, and Iruka and I leaned forward.

"Oh yeah, Naruto?!" I roared out. Naruto yelped as he leapt up into the air for a second then fell down, landing unceremoniously on his ass.

"Tou-chan, Iruka-sensei, where did you two come from?! What are you doing here?" Naruto questioned grumpily with a pout.

"No. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class," Iruka stated as he pointed at Naruto.

"He's right. What's this I hear about you skipping class and vandalizing the Hokage Mountain?! You are in so much trouble, Naruto!" I declared sternly and Naruto gulped nervously.

Suddenly, Naruto tried to pull a runner on us but I quickly grabbed him and tied him up with rope so that he couldn't run again. We dragged him back to the Academy so that we could lecture him.

"I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time and the time before that. Tomorrow, you've got another chance, and you're messing up again," Iruka lectured while we were in the classroom with the other kids.

"Not to mention that Iruka had to come and get me so that we could drag you back. Do you know how embarrassing this is for the three of us?" I threw in my two cents.

"Hmph!" Naruto grunted as he looked away in defiance, and I felt a tick mark forming while I gritted my teeth at the boy's attitude.

"Fine! Because you missed it Naruto, everyone will review the Transformation Jutsu!" Iruka declared and most of the kids groaned at that.

"And I'm going to stay here so that you don't try to run again. This is what happens when you decide to be a little smart aleck," I stated as I knelt down to untie Naruto. He adjusted his goggles after he stood up.

Soon enough, the entire class was lined up in front of the room. One of the kids, Sakura Haruno, had stepped forward. Sakura had jade eyes, long pink hair, and a larger than the average forehead. She was wearing a red dress and had a red ribbon tied in her hair.

"Alright, Sakura here, let's do it. Transform!" Sakura declared as she made the appropriate handsign.

In a puff of smoke, Sakura turned into an exact replica of Iruka, mirroring him right down to his frown.

"You transformed into me. Good," Iruka said, and Sakura changed back, cheering and jumping up and down with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Yes! I did it! Yeah! Yes!" Sakura cried out joyfully and turned to look at Sasuke, who was standing nearby with a stoic expression.

"Sasuke, did you see that?!" Sakura asked in excitement, but Sasuke ignored her.

I frowned at him for being rude and I felt disappointed in him. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke had become cold and ruthless despite attempts by Mikoto, Izumi, and myself to steer him away from his path of vengeance. Whenever I tried to teach him that vengeance was not the answer, he would shoot me a cold glare and say that I had no right to lecture him when I had no idea what it was like to lose somebody. I was very concerned about his mental state and hoped that I would get through to him before he decided to do something that he would regret for the rest of his life.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka called out and Sasuke walked up with his hands in his pockets.

Sasuke quickly made the handsign and transformed into Iruka as well, using the jutsu much faster than Sakura, transforming before Iruka could even finish writing on his clipboard. When Iruka looked up, he noticed the exact copy of himself already waiting there and it appeared to take him by surprise.

"Uh...good," Iruka said as he quickly jotted down notes and Sasuke changed back, and walked away without a word.

"Next, Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka called out to Naruto, who was standing next to Ino Yamanaka and Shikamaru Nara.

"This is a total waste of time, Naruto," Shikamaru complained with a bored and irritated look.

"We always pay for your screw ups!" Ino added.

"Like I care," Naruto shot back.

As Naruto stepped forward with a devilish grin, I noticed Hinata was smiling at him softly with a blush and fiddling her two index fingers together.

 _"Well now, seems like Hiashi's daughter has a crush on Naruto,"_ I thought and Kurama spoke.

 _ **"The vixen would certainly be a good mate for the boy because she is kind and gentle,"** _Kurama commented slyly.

 _"They're still too young to get into a relationship right now. Maybe when they are older,"_ I thought back to him just as Naruto made his handsign and a large amount of chakra flowed out of him.

"Transform!" Naruto cried out as his chakra suddenly caused an explosion of smoke, and I saw a sight I would never get out of my mind when it cleared up.

The smoke cleared up to reveal a fully nude woman with an extremely erotic and voluptuous body. The woman had very long blond hair put up in pigtails, piercing blue eyes, and whisker marks resembling Naruto's. The woman even took on an erotic pose and blew Iruka a kiss.

Iruka's eyes bulged and he let out a strangled noise as he was blown back by a spray of blood that came out of his nose. As for me, my eyes also bulged out and I accidentally inhaled my saliva sharply, making me start hacking harshly and hitting my chest with a hand while my face turned red from anger and embarrassment, causing Kurama to roar out into laughter.

 _ **"Hahahahaha! The brat certainly got you!"**_ Kurama exclaimed in amusement, which didn't make me feel any better.

 _"Shut the fuck up, Kurama! And who the hell asked you?!"_ I shouted inwardly at him and he kept laughing in response just as Naruto changed back with a foxy grin.

"Gotcha! That's my Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto declared as Iruka got up and put tissue paper up his nose.

"Cut the stupid tricks! This is your last warning!" Iruka roared out, the force of his shout sending Naruto's hair back just as I managed to recover.

"Naruto Uzumaki, what is wrong with you?! Where did you even learn that?! Did I not work hard in raising you right?! What you did is not only highly offensive, it's also very disrespectful to women!" I yelled at him while I started grabbing his ear and yanking on it.

"Ouch! Tou-chan, that hurts!" Naruto yelped in pain as I lectured him.

* * *

"This sucks...losers," I heard Naruto grumbling under his breath while he was busy scrubbing off the paint that was on the First Hokage's stone face.

"What was that?" I asked him lowly and Naruto flinched as he paled.

"Um...nothing, Tou-chan," Naruto quickly said.

"That's what I thought. Now, you're not going home until you've cleaned off every single drop of paint. Maybe this will teach you that actions have repercussions," I stated sternly while Iruka and I sat on the stone head.

"Whatever, Tou-chan," Naruto grumbled and he went back to scrubbing.

I kept looking down at Naruto until I sighed and started speaking.

"Naruto?" I called down to him.

"What do you want now, Tou-chan?" Naruto asked grumpily as he looked up unhappily.

"Look...how about this. If you get all this cleaned up, Iruka-sensei and I will take you out for some Ichiraku Ramen. How does that sound?" I offered and was taken aback slightly by the beaming grin that appeared on Naruto's face.

"Eh?! That's some serious motivation! I'll clean this up in no time!" Naruto declared and he started working even harder while I sweat-dropped.

Three hours later, Naruto had cleaned up the graffiti and as promised, we were now at the restaurant having our favorite ramen. I looked at Naruto and decided to ask him why he would vandalize the Hokage Mountain.

"Hey Naruto," I started to say, getting Naruto's attention as I asked, "Why on Earth would you do that to the Hokage faces? You do know who the Hokages are, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Naruto immediately responded, finishing his bowl with a satisfied sigh as he continued, "Everyone knows. They were the greatest shinobi of their time, right? The best of the best? The undefeated ninja champs? And the Fourth Hokage's the one who saved the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox. He was the most amazing."

 _ **"Oh please, he just took me off guard when he dropped that damn toad on me,"**_ Kurama scoffed but I ignored him.

"So, why would you do something like that? It's an insult to the memory of those that gave their lives for this village and what you did is basically spitting on their efforts to make the village what it is today," I pointed out.

"The reason why I did it is that I'm going to be greater than any of them. Me, Naruto, the next Hokage! A ninja legend! Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me, believe it!" Naruto declared as he pointed at us with his chopsticks and Iruka and I stared at him awkwardly.

"Well...whatever motivates you, I suppose," I remarked as I finished my bowl.

"Uh, Iruka-sensei, I kinda want to ask a favor," Naruto piped up suddenly.

"You want another bowl?" Iruka questioned with an arched brow and Naruto shook his head.

"I...I want to try your headband on. Please?" Naruto asked while he put his hands together.

"Hm? Oh, no way. You can only wear the Leaf headband when you finally graduate from the Academy and become a ninja. You've got to pass the test tomorrow," Iruka lectured while he fiddled with his headband and I messed with mine that was tied to my arm.

"That is so uncool!" Naruto barked as Iruka and I laughed.

"Ha! That's why you took off your goggles, isn't it?" I chuckled and Naruto pouted.

"Aaaah, I want another bowl!" Naruto cried out frantically to cover up his embarrassment.

* * *

Today was the day that those at the Academy will graduate to become the next generation of shinobi. I was in the testing room with Iruka and Mizuki but I narrowed my eyes at Mizuki in displeasure.

I didn't like Mizuki since I had always felt hatred and malicious intent coming from him whenever he saw me and Naruto. I once asked Kurama about it and he explained that I had the ability to sense negative emotions from other people, which was very useful during my career as a shinobi.

Naruto walked into the room and stood in front of the desk with a look of determination. He made his handsign and his chakra poured out in massive waves.

"Clone Jutsu!" Naruto cried out and a rather pathetic and dead-looking clone of Naruto appeared on the floor.

Naruto chuckled in embarrassment and I stared at him in sympathy, knowing that he would never pass with his clone looking like that.

"You failed!" Iruka exclaimed after some twitching and Naruto looked crestfallen.

"Iruka-sensei. He's off, but his moves weren't bad, and he did hang in there and replicate. This is his third try, so you know that he really wants to become a ninja. We could cut him a break and pass him," Mizuki tried to reason with Iruka and I looked at him suspiciously.

 _"What the hell are you planning?"_ I thought as Iruka replied, "Mizuki-sensei, the other students created at least three effective replications. But Naruto could only create one and look at it, it's pitiful. I can't pass him."

I saw Naruto growling in frustration and I went over to put my hand on his shoulder, causing him to look at me and I nodded in understanding. We left the building and Naruto went to his swing. I stood next to him and rested my hand on his shoulder as the new graduates were being praised by their families.

"There. You see them?" I heard two civilian women talking as they glared at us.

"It's that boy...I heard that he's the only one who failed," one of the women pointed out.

"Hmph. Well, it serves him right," the second woman scoffed.

"It's bad enough that one of them is a shinobi, but just imagine what would happen if the other one becomes a ninja. I mean, they are the ones who-" the first woman said and got cut off by the second woman.

"Dammit, will you please be quiet? We're not supposed to talk about that," the second woman hushed the first one and I glared at them in warning.

I suddenly felt a presence next to us and I looked to my right to see Mizuki leaning against a tree that was near Naruto's swing.

"Mizuki-sensei. Is there something I can help you with?" I asked evenly and I caught a glimmer of hatred in his eyes for a second.

"Sorry for sneaking up on you and Naruto like that, but can I speak to Naruto-Kun in private for a minute? It won't take long," Mizuki asked and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

I knew that Mizuki was planning something because I could sense the ill intent coming off him, but I decided to humor him so that I could follow from a distance and find out what he had planned for Naruto.

"As long as it's okay with Naruto," I stated and Naruto nodded as he put on his goggles.

I let Mizuki lead Naruto far enough away so that I could follow them without raising suspicions and I eventually stopped to listen when they wound up on a roof to talk.

"Naruto, Iruka-sensei's tough, but he's not against you," Mizuki reassured.

"But why? Why only me?" Naruto questioned.

"He wants you to be strong with all his heart, but that will never happen if he goes easy on you. Unlike you, he never had the love of a parent and never had someone to care for him while he was growing up," Mizuki explained and I felt bad for Iruka since he lost his parents in Kurama's involuntary attack twelve years ago.

"But this time, I really wanted to graduate," Naruto stated with a look of depression.

"Heh. Then I guess I have to tell you," Mizuki said with a smile and I listened closely.

"Huh?" Naruto let out a noise of confusion.

"It's a secret, but I'm going to let you in on it," Mizuki stated.

 _"Let's see what you're planning, asshole,"_ I thought and kept listening.

While Mizuki was letting in on what he had planned, I felt my anger grow at the fact that this bastard had the gall to manipulate my son into committing a serious crime.

 _"That motherfucker! He's going to have my son steal the Sacred Scroll of Sealing and pin the whole thing on him so that he could flee the village with it!"_ I thought, feeling livid and having half a mind to teach that son of a bitch what happens when someone goes after my family.

 ** _"The old monkey needs to be informed of this since that scroll contains powerful S-rank jutsu that'll cause destruction if it winds up in the hands of those with ill-intent,"_** Kurama stated and I nodded.

 _"You're right. Hiruzen needs to know about this,"_ I replied internally as I hurried over to the Hokage's office.

I entered the building and approached the secretary, who looked surprised that I showed up so quickly.

"Hello Ma'am, I need to speak to the Hokage. It's urgent," I said and the woman nodded.

A few moments later, I was standing in front of Hiruzen, who was sitting at his desk and looking at me with a serious expression that matched mine.

"Alex, I hear that you have some urgent news. What is it?" Hiruzen asked patiently.

"Well, I discovered that there were some moles digging the foundation," I phrased and Hiruzen's eyes hardened at the news that there was a traitor among us as he signaled his personal ANBU guards to put up privacy seals.

"Okay Alex-san, you have my attention. Tell me everything," Hiruzen gave me the go ahead and I started to explain.

* * *

"Hmm...this is troubling news. What do we do about Mizuki...he must not be allowed to succeed with this scheme," Hiruzen said and I began to describe my plan.

"What we need to do is take him by surprise...my plan is that we catch him in the act and swiftly move in to arrest him, but we act as though we don't know about his plan. If Mizuki discovers that we're on to him, we're gonna lose the drop on him and he'll flee the village. What you'll do is let Naruto steal the scroll and I'll trail him from a distance so that we'll know where Mizuki's hideout is. Once that happens and Mizuki confesses, I and a few ANBU will quickly move in to arrest him," I told Hiruzen and he nodded in understanding.

"Very well. Alex, this will be an A-rank mission with a capture or kill order. Do you understand?" Hiruzen asked me.

"Yes, Lord Third," I agreed just as five ANBU operatives appeared.

We left the building and the ANBU waited nearby for Naruto to show up as I changed into my SWAT uniform and gear with my M4A1 and rejoined them. It became nightfall just as we spotted Naruto quickly sneaking into the building and coming out a few minutes later.

I signaled the ANBU to form up on me and we followed Naruto, who left the village and eventually stopped at a small house that was deep inside the forest. Naruto sat down near the house and opened the scroll, reading through its contents.

"Let's see. The first one is Muti-Shadow Clone Jutsu? Ah crap! Not this again, it's my worst Jutsu!" Naruto whined in disbelief.

After a while, Naruto worked hard on the jutsu and after awhile, he succeeded and sat down on the ground panting, just as Iruka showed up with a pissed off expression on his face.

"It's all over!" Iruka declared as he leaned forward and chuckled.

"Got me already? Not bad. You're quick sensei, I only had time to learn one technique. Listen Iruka-sensei, I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu, and you're going to let me graduate. Then everything will be okay! That's the way it works, right? Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement.

"Huh? Where'd you get that idea?" Iruka questioned in confusion with wide eyes.

"Mizuki-sensei told me about it, believe it! He told me where to find the scroll and this place..." Naruto trailed off in uncertainty when he saw the look of complete bafflement and shock on Iruka's face.

Suddenly, Kuni came flying at Naruto and Iruka, forcing the teacher to push Naruto out of the way as he took a hit to the leg and was forced against the house.

"I see you found our little hideaway," Mizuki said as he made his presence known, appearing on a tree branch.

"So that's the way it is, huh? I should've known," Iruka groaned in pain as he glared up at his former best friend.

"Naruto! Give me the scroll, now!" Mizuki demanded while Iruka painfully pulled out the Kuni in his leg and shot a look of urgency at Naruto.

"Wait a minute?! What's going on here?!" Naruto questioned nervously as he looked at Iruka and Mizuki.

"Naruto, don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that could put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, for his own ambitions!" Iruka exclaimed frantically and Mizuki smirked darkly as he saw Naruto glaring at him.

"Naruto, Iruka's just trying to scare you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll," Mizuki lied and Naruto looked uncertain about who to trust.

"Stop lying, Mizuki! Don't let him trick you, Naruto!" Iruka tried to reason and Mizuki chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying," Mizuki stated.

"No, Mizuki!" Iruka cried out in horror when he realized what Mizuki was planning.

"They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto, since the decree twelve years ago," Mizuki said cruelly.

"W-what decree?" Naruto asked hesitantly and I decided to move in before Mizuki did something stupid.

I made a signal to move in and we all appeared out in the open with our weapons ready, making Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki look at us in surprise since they weren't expecting us.

"I think that's quite enough, Mizuki. By the order of the Third Hokage, you are hereby placed under arrest for the attempted theft of a Leaf Relic, the attempted murder of a shinobi and a civilian of the Hidden Leaf Village, and conspiracy to commit treason. You are to surrender or we will use force," I laid out the charges while I kept aiming at Mizuki with my rifle.

"Hold on, this is a mistake! Naruto's the one who took the scroll! He should be arrested for his crimes!" Mizuki tried to deny it but I simply chuckled and his eyes widened in realization.

"I see by that look on your face that you know that there is no escaping your fate. Did you really think I wouldn't follow you and Naruto when you two went to have your private talk? I heard everything and reported it to the Hokage. Face it Mizuki, there is no talking your way out of this one. Search him," I ordered the ANBU and they surrounded the rogue Chunin so that he couldn't run.

An ANBU operative with a Hawk mask moved forward and quickly took all of Mizuki's weapons and pouches before searching him. There were mostly just ninja tools and travel supplies, along with a Make-Out Paradise book, at least until they searched the inside pockets of his Chunin vest.

"Commander, I found a letter and a headband bearing the mark of the Hidden Sound Village," Hawk informed me, handing the offending items to me. I slung my rifle so that I could examine the letter for any traps. Once I was satisfied that the letter wasn't rigged with traps, I opened it and looked through its contents.

"Well now Mizuki, looks like we get to add 'aiding a known S-rank missing-nin of the Leaf' to your list of charges. This letter is from Orochimaru and based on its contents, you have been in correspondence with him for quite some time. ANBU, take Mizuki to the T&I Department. They'll find out his motives," I ordered coldly and the ANBU started to drag Mizuki away.

"Damn you, demon! You and your fucking spawn better pray that I don't escape or I'll hunt you down to the ends of the Earth!" Mizuki roared in fury and I stormed over to hit him across the face with the butt of my rifle.

"Let's make one thing clear. Naruto is proven to be a more honest person and ninja than you'll ever be, you piece of shit. If you ever threaten my son again, you won't live to see the inside of a courtroom," I growled, using my chakra to make my eyes glow red for intimidation.

Mizuki shuddered and passed out from the large burst of concentrated killer intent, causing one of the ANBU to slung him over his shoulder and look back at me.

"Good work everyone, I'll make sure that Iruka-sensei gets medical attention," I praised, and the ANBU nodded as they quickly left the area.

I went to check on Iruka and Naruto, who was looking at me in awe as I went to see the wound on Iruka's leg.

"Are you two okay?" I asked as I took out a mini first aid kit and patched up Iruka's injuries.

"That was awesome, Tou-chan! The way you showed that jerk!" Naruto cheered happily, but his smile disappeared and he growled, "Ugh! I can't believe that jerk tricked me like that, and I still won't ever be able to graduate because of that stupid clone Jutsu!"

I frowned as I thought about how Naruto should've been able to pass with such a simple jutsu when Kurama spoke up.

 ** _"Alex, did you ever stop to think that maybe the brat has far too much chakra because of me and because he's an Uzumaki?"_** Kurama pointed out and I felt like facepalming for not thinking about that.

 _"Damn, you're right! Shit, I feel like such a complete dumbass for not considering that,"_ I thought with depression lines above my head.

"Naruto, I think I might know what the problem is," I stated as I finished bandaging Iruka's leg.

"Really?! What is it, 'cause its been bugging me on why I suck at it," Naruto stated and I looked at him.

"First, can you try the Shadow Clone Jutsu? I have a theory about why you are so bad at the Clone Jutsu and the Shadow Clone Jutsu might prove it," I instructed, causing Naruto to nod as he put his index and middle fingers in a cross while his chakra came flowing out.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto cried out just as massive smoke puffed around us and it cleared up to show us thousands of Naruto standing on the ground, the trees, and on the roof of the house.

"Oh Kami..." Iruka muttered in shock and awe at Naruto mastering a highly advanced jutsu just as the clones vanished and Naruto looked at us expectantly.

"Just as I thought...the reason why you are so bad at the clone jutsu is that you have far too much chakra for that technique and you use too much chakra when attempting it. But, you can now make up for that with the shadow clones. Iruka-sensei, does this qualify for Naruto to pass?" I asked Iruka, who looked thoughtful until he looked at Naruto with a smile.

"Naruto, come here for a second. I've got something I want to give you," Iruka said, and Naruto walked over.

"Close your eyes," Iruka instructed and Naruto did what he said.

Iruka went to take off Naruto's goggles and he replaced it with his headband, causing me to smile softly.

"Sensei, how much longer?" Naruto asked a little impatiently just as Iruka finished tying the headband across Naruto's head.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Iruka said and Naruto opened his eyes to see Iruka without his headband and smiling at Naruto as the teacher said, "Congratulations, you graduate."

"And to celebrate, we have a surprise. We're going out for ramen tonight!" I finished with a grin, feeling proud that Naruto made it.

Naruto trembled, causing Iruka and I to look at him in confusion until he launched himself at us.

"Iruka-sensei! Tou-chan!" Naruto cried out joyfully and we yelped as we fell down.

"Naruto, careful! Iruka's injured," I lectured him playfully.

"He's right, that hurt!" Iruka complained with a smile and we all laughed.

 _"Naruto...you finally made it, and I couldn't be any more proud of you. Somewhere inside me, I just know that you will actually become Hokage,"_ I thought fondly as I tousled his hair and Naruto looked up at me with a beaming grin.

"I did it, Tou-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily, and I thought back to what Mizuki tried to reveal.

"Naruto, once we're done with having ramen, I need to tell you something when we go see the Hokage, okay?" I suggested and Naruto nodded.

As we all got up and went to go back to the village, we joked and laughed to keep our spirits up and wished that nothing would change.

* * *

"Ah, Alex and Naruto. So glad that you two are here," Hiruzen stated with a smile as we entered his office.

"Mission accomplished, Lord Third. Mizuki has been taken into custody and he is now currently being interrogated by T&I," I reported and Hiruzen nodded.

"Excellent work, Alex. Your payment will be sent to you once the official paperwork has been squared away," Hiruzen praised me but I was feeling dread since Naruto was going to find out the truth about why the civilians hated us.

"Lord Third...there's something you need to know. It's about what Mizuki tried to tell Naruto and I think it's time he learned the truth," I stated grimly and Hiruzen nodded seriously as Naruto looked at us in confusion.

"Truth? What truth? Tou-chan? Jiji? What's going on?" Naruto questioned uneasily.

"Naruto...there's something the Third Hokage and I want you to know. It concerns what Mizuki tried to say," I informed somberly, hoping that Naruto would understand why we kept his status secret his entire life.

"That's right! I completely forgot about that! What was Mizuki-teme trying to say before you showed up?" Naruto asked, and I took a deep breath.

"Before I tell you anything, what do you know about the Nine-Tailed Fox attack that occurred twelve years ago?" I asked him and Naruto started thinking.

"Well...I know that the Fourth Hokage fought against it and the Fox was killed in the fight...why?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"That's the official story told to the younger generation but the truth is that the story was created to deceive them. The Fox is a creature made of pure chakra, so it's impossible to kill him. The only thing that can truly stop him is by sealing him away in something," I started to say and Naruto looked dreadful.

"Into what?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"The only way to stop the Fox is by sealing him into a newborn baby..." I trailed off and Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"And that baby was...me? So it's true, they were right about me being a demon," Naruto stated depressingly, and he yelped when I suddenly knelt down and grabbed him by the shoulders firmly.

"Now you listen, Naruto Uzumaki. You are not a demon despite what people say...you just hold something inside you that people are scared of. People fear what they don't understand and they tend to make irrational decisions because of it. And if you are a demon, I guess that makes me a demon as well," I stated and Naruto looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked and I looked at the Hokage for permission, and he nodded to show that it was okay for me to reveal myself.

"Naruto...I've kept something from you all your life and I didn't want to keep this from you anymore. The Fox did something to me that night and it made me...different. Now, I'm going to show you something and I don't want you to freak out when I do," I stated and prepared to change.

Naruto's look of confusion changed into shock and awe when I shifted into my fox form that was at the size of a large German shepherd, and I proudly displayed my nine tails while keeping my head lowered.

"Tou-chan..." Naruto trailed off as he approached and he touched one of my tails to prove that this was real.

 **"I'm truly sorry for keeping this from you...I love you so much and I didn't want to keep this from you anymore...forgive me,"** I mumbled the last part as I looked away and prepared for the worst, only I was stunned when Naruto hugged my furry neck and I tensed up.

"I don't blame you or Jiji for keeping this from me...you were afraid of losing me and I can understand that," Naruto muttered and I felt tears welling up.

 **"Naruto..."** I trailed off and sat on my hind legs so that I could hug him back.

 _"This kid is too pure for this cruel world...Minato, Kushina, I know you two are watching down from above and that you are proud on what your son has become,"_ I thought and just enjoyed this moment between me and Naruto.

* * *

A/N Well, I think that was a nice way to end this chapter with a little moment between Naruto and Alex. So, I noticed that nobody answered my question if you all wanted Alex on Team 7. I would really like to know your answer. One more thing, I'm planning to include all the movies in this story since it'll go all the way to the very end of the Naruto series. I would like your opinion on when they will take place in the Naruto timeline. Well, that's all for now, so stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Elemental Nations.

"Naruto...please tell me that you are not going to get your photo taken while looking like that?" I questioned in disbelief at the ridiculous sight.

"Of course I am, Tou-chan!" Naruto declared while I was twitching.

"Naruto...your graduation photo is an important document, one that is supposed to identify you as a ninja and you are going to have your photo taken while looking like that? Look at yourself! No one is ever going to take you seriously while you look like that," I lectured in exasperation while pinching the space between my eyes.

"I'm doing it Tou-chan, and nothing you say is going to change my mind, believe it!" Naruto stated loudly and I sighed wearily.

"Okay, it's your choice...but don't say I didn't try to warn you when they make you take it again," I said reluctantly as we went to the roof of the Hokage Tower and Naruto sat in front of the camera.

"Listen, kid, are you sure you want me to take your picture like that?" the middle-aged cameraman questioned with a dubious look.

"Look...just humor the kid or we're going to be here all damn day trying to persuade him," I grumbled with a deadpanned expression.

"Alright, but don't blame me when he gets into trouble," the cameraman warned as he readied his camera and took Naruto's picture.

When the picture was taken, I groaned while Kurama laughed at my misfortune. In the photo, Naruto's face and hands were covered in white paint with red swirls, holding out one hand to the camera and bearing a scowl.

Later, we were in a room in front of Hiruzen, who was sitting at a table with an assistant and staring at the picture with an exasperated, yet critical eye. I was smiling weakly, wanting to be anywhere but here out of embarrassment while Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a bashful grin.

"At first, ya know, I couldn't exactly figure out how to do it. It took me like three hours to work it out and stuff. But, finally, I got it. Like an art project on my face, only cooler," Naruto said cheerfully with a proud look.

"Take it again," Hiruzen said sternly.

"Hm? No way!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"We can't accept this photo," Hiruzen stated.

"Yeah?! Well, I'm not doing it again!" Naruto exclaimed as he leaned forward on his seat, and they stared each other down for a full thirty seconds.

 _"Somebody shoot me now,"_ I thought with a grimace.

Suddenly, Naruto made a familiar handsign and he transformed into the nude blond haired woman with only smoke covering her privates before I could stop him.

"Pretty please, Lord Hokage~?" the female Naruto begged with a wink.

Hiruzen stared in shock for a moment and reacted with a nosebleed that knocked his chair down and rendered him unconscious. Naruto changed back, staring in surprise at the reaction until I bopped him in the back of the head and he yelped in pain.

"Ow! Tou-chan, what was that for?!" Naruto complained as he rubbed the back of his head and I started twitching again while a tick mark formed.

"Naruto Uzumaki, that is the Third Hokage you just knocked out! That is your Commander-in-Chief and I will make your life hell if you don't show some respect!" I yelled at him with sharp teeth and white eyes.

After Naruto and Hiruzen took their seats again, Hiruzen began dabbing the blood away with a handkerchief.

"That's the Sexy Jutsu, you say? Very tricky; much too tricky! Don't do it again," Hiruzen warned.

Naruto didn't say anything and just laughed nervously while he rubbed the back of his head.

"And where is your headband, Naruto? You're supposed to be wearing it!" Hiruzen pointed out when he noticed that Naruto had his goggles on.

"Oh, I'm not putting it on until the orientation. I don't want to mess it up," Naruto explained while he fiddled with his goggles and I facepalmed.

"So, you want your headband nice, but your photo, which is supposed to identify you, makes you look like a clown! It's for ninja training and missions, which is the key to your future. Look at this picture, you can't even tell who this is!" Hiruzen snapped in irritation as he lifted the picture up.

"Well fine! How am I supposed to know all this complicated stuff, anyway?!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"By paying attention, kiddo," I remarked and I earned a dirty look from Naruto.

"Tou-chan! Who's side are you on here?!" Naruto rounded at me.

"Just stating the facts, kiddo. And I warned you this would happen, but you didn't listen to me," I stated and Naruto sputtered in disbelief.

Then, my sharp hearing picked up the sound of someone handling a weapon, and we all looked to see a kid slamming the door open and charging at Hiruzen. The kid wore a grey headpiece with an orange dot on the left side and a frowny face on the right side. The headpiece covered almost all the kid's hair but allowed a long, messy, dark brown ponytail to exit the back. He also had on a blue scarf, a yellow shirt with the Hidden Leaf crest on the front, and grey shorts. I noticed that the kid was holding a blunt shuriken while he charged at Hiruzen.

"Old man, I challenge you! I'm going to defeat you and become the Fifth Hokage!" the kid, who I knew as Konohamaru, declared as he was rushing at Hiruzen.

Just then, Konohamaru tripped over his own two feet and landed face first onto the floor, causing me to sweat-drop, Naruto to groan in embarrassment, and Hiruzen to hide his face under his hat.

 _"Seriously Konohamaru? Again? This is his what...20th attempt to attack his grandfather today?"_ I thought dryly while Kurama chuckled.

 _ **"Oh Kami, this is priceless. I wish I had that snack called popcorn you humans love so much,"**_ Kurama snickered.

 _"Let me ask you something, Kurama. Have you always been this twisted?"_ I asked him inwardly.

 _ **"Alex...you've known me for too long to know that such a question is meaningless,"**_ Kurama stated dryly.

 _"Good point, I'll shut up now,"_ I thought to him just as a man named Ebisu came rushing to the doorway and entered the room breathlessly, resting his hands on the doorway.

Ebisu was wearing a navy blue ninja jumpsuit with sunglasses and a bandana with the Leaf forehead protector sewn on it.

"Something tripped me!" Konohamaru whined, causing Ebisu to gasp repeatedly as he quickly looked around.

"Are you okay, Honorable Grandson? And by the way, there's nothing here for you to trip on; it's pretty flat," Ebisu pointed out while he adjusted his shades.

Konohamaru noticed Naruto and I staring at him awkwardly and he stormed over to us, causing Ebisu to look at us and shoot us a cold glare.

"Alright, you're the one who tripped me, aren't you?!" Konohamaru accused as he stormed over to point at me.

"First of all, don't accuse anyone unless you have proof. It's very rude to accuse someone if you don't have any proof. And why are you accusing me in the first place?" I questioned, looking down at the kid with a stern look.

"Because you're the most suspicious looking one here!" Konohamaru declared, and I muttered under my breath about how these kids were going to be the death of me just as Naruto grabbed Konohamaru by his shirt and lifted him to his eye level.

"You tripped over your own feet, dork, so watch who you're talking to!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Hey you, take your hands off him! He's the Honorable Grandson of the Honorable Third Hokage!" Ebisu exclaimed sternly.

"Hm?" Naruto made a noise of confusion as Konohamaru smirked.

"Well? What's the matter?! Weren't you two gonna do something? Afraid 'cause the Third Hokage is my grandfather?" Konohamaru dared us.

Hearing that irked me, but I remained calm. Naruto, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

"I don't care if he's your grandmother, so believe it!" Naruto barked in irritation as he whacked Konohamaru in the back of his head, sending him to the floor. I decided that it was time for us to leave before something else happened.

* * *

Naruto and I were heading to Ichiraku Ramen to spend some time together when I felt a presence behind us. I quickly looked behind me and sweat-dropped when I saw a balled up blanket in the same color as the dirt road, sitting in the street with two feet poking out at the bottom.

 _"Oh, Christ...is that kid following us?"_ I thought uneasily, not wanting to deal with Konohamaru's antics right now.

 _ **"I have to admit, the little brat's tenacious,"** _Kurama commented and I signaled to Naruto subtly that we were being followed.

Naruto signaled back that he understood and we kept walking until I had enough of us being followed and turned around, seeing Konohamaru badly using the Disguise Jutsu to try and hide against a wooden fence. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him, yanking the cloth off Konohamaru as he yelped.

"Nice try kid, but I'm a Jonin and a former ANBU Commander so I'll give you a B for effort," I remarked as Naruto came over, and Konohamaru grinned.

"Saw through my disguise, huh? The rumors about you two are true; you're good!" Konohamaru praised cheerfully.

"Um...look kid, you shouldn't believe what everyone says and I doubt you followed us just to praise us," I said stoically.

"Alright, I'll be your apprentice and you two will be my trainers!" Konohamaru declared, ignoring every word I said.

"Huh?" Naruto and I said dumbly with looks of disbelief.

"And afterward, you got to show me how to do that Sexy Jutsu you did on Grampa Hokage!" Konohamaru demanded.

"Absolutely not! It's bad enough that Naruto can do that move, but you are not learning that!" I firmly refused.

"C'mon, I need a new trainer! Please, Boss? Please, Sensei!" Konohamaru begged, which caught our attention.

"Boss?" Naruto inquired with a gleam in his eyes.

"Sensei?" I wondered, noticing the gleam and taking it as a bad sign.

"Yeah! Because you're the boss and you're the sensei!" Konohamaru stated as he pointed to us.

 _"How the hell can one be in charge while the other is the teacher?"_ I wondered to Kurama, who grunted.

 _ **"Who the fuck knows?"**_ Kurama rumbled.

"Well..." Naruto muttered thoughtfully.

 _"Oh God...he better not be considering it,"_ I thought dreadfully and I hung my head with depression lines when my worst fears came true.

"How can I refuse?" Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head.

 _"Son of a bitch!"_ I thought unhappily.

 _ **"Just help the brat out, Alex. Then he'll quit bugging us,"**_ Kurama suggested and I sighed.

 _"Damn it...fine, if only to get him to stop bothering us,"_ I relented inwardly.

"Okay...fine, but you are never to use that move on anyone and I never agreed to this. If your grandfather discovers that I'm involved in this, I'm going to be in hot water," I grumbled, and we all started walking again.

* * *

"Listen, if you wanna be a master ninja? Then believe it! You gotta control your catra," Naruto instructed and I shot him a look of bafflement.

"His what?" I asked in confusion.

"His catra!" Naruto said more loudly and I sweat-dropped at the fact that Naruto didn't even say the word 'chakra' correctly.

"Uh, Boss...I, uh, think you're talking about chakra," Konohamaru corrected, getting Naruto's attention.

"Oh, uh, right! I was just testing you! Good job!" Naruto stuttered a little bit.

"Alright!" Konohamaru shouted joyfully and I pinched the bridge of my nose in disbelief.

 _"What the hell? This poor kid is so gullible that it's just sad,"_ I thought with my mouth dropped open.

"Listen, I'll explain what chakra is-" Naruto started to say and got cut off.

"Chakra is the elemental life energy that is used to perform jutsu," Konohamaru butted in.

"Eh?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"The ninja arts combine physical energy from each cell in the body with mystical energy, which is intensified through training and experience. When these two energies mix, they form chakra, which can be manipulated most easily through the use of special handsigns, allowing a ninja to perform advanced jutsu," Konohamaru explained.

I was surprised at the kid's knowledge as I looked down at him, and promptly face-faulted when I saw him reading from a scroll and Naruto did a doubletake.

"Know-it-all! You were just reading that whole thing!" Naruto shouted while I was scratching my head at the ridiculous situation I had found myself in.

"Listen kiddo, talking about ninja techniques is all well and good, but it all comes down to one thing," I said.

"What is it?" Konohamaru asked seriously.

"Just plain hard work and guts," Naruto stated matter-of-factly.

"That's two things, but Naruto's right. Even those with natural talent can only go so far unless they put in enough effort. If you work hard and fight tooth and nail, you will become very successful one day," I lectured.

"I'm with you!" Konohamaru shouted eagerly.

"Good, then let's do it; show me a transformation," Naruto said.

"Huh?" Konohamaru asked.

"Transform into me. That way we can start with the body type you already know; athletic male," I instructed.

"Believe it. Go on, show us what you can do and we'll take you to the next level," Naruto encouraged.

"Oh, alright...transform!" Konohamaru cried out as he did his handsign and built up chakra.

I immediately noticed a problem with his chakra, even before the fat, big-lipped, one-eyed, pale-skinned copy of myself appeared before me, and Kurama roared out in laughter at the ridiculous sight.

"Hm..." I hummed thoughtfully and observed, "Your chakra control was good at first, but it seems you have a hard time maintaining your focus in the end. Understandable, given your age."

Konohamaru transformed back and shouted, "And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Calm down. What I'm saying is that younger people have more trouble with focus. Don't get offended so easily; it's a simple fact that the younger you are, the more likely you are to get distracted. It's like that with everyone," I lectured after lightly bopping him on the head.

Konohamaru just rubbed his head and pouted.

"Alright, now we need to get started on female beauty!" Naruto stated.

"Huh?" I wondered in confusion, having a bad feeling about what he had planned.

* * *

"You're not going in there and you can't be serious," I said firmly as I stood in the way to prevent Naruto and Konohamaru from entering the adult magazine shop.

"C'mon, Tou-chan!" Naruto whined with a pout.

"I said no, Naruto! That place prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from entering and you are not bringing Lord Third's grandson with you!" I lectured sternly.

Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Konohamaru's hand and they rushed into the shop before I could stop them, causing me to throw up my hands in exasperation.

 _"That fucking kid! I swear to God he's becoming more rebellious as he gets older,"_ I thought in displeasure.

 _ **"Looks like you might be regretting having made that promise to take care of him,"**_ Kurama remarked and I twitched.

 _"Kurama...you are not fucking helping!"_ I retorted just as I heard a commotion coming from inside the shop.

Naruto was tossed out by the owner and he landed on the ground with bruises and a black eye just as Konohamaru came out with not a scratch on him.

"So, did you learn your lesson?" I questioned while crossing my arms, and Naruto unsteadily stood up.

"Minor setback...I've got a plan B," Naruto declared.

* * *

"Hell no!" I emphasized, blocking the entrance of the female bathhouse by standing in the way and holding out my arms in an x pose.

Naruto was in his Sexy Jutsu form with his orange jumpsuit on, only he was the same height and not as curvy. Konohamaru had turned into an obese woman with swollen lips, and only enough hair to copy his ponytail that was on his now bloated and nearly bald head.

"Come on Tou-chan, we have to show Konohamaru female beauty!" Naruto complained but I shook my head firmly.

"I said no, Naruto! Going into the porno shop was bad enough, but this is where I put my foot down! You and the Third Hokage's grandson are not going in the women's bathhouse to spy on women! It is wrong on so many levels!" I lectured sternly.

"What was that about spying?" a voice asked behind me in a menacing tone, causing me to look behind and see a very pissed off Sakura and Ino.

"Oh, perfect timing. Would you two mind teaching them the consequences of peeping on women?" I suggested as I stepped to the side and the two girls obliged by cracking their knuckles as they approached, causing Naruto to gulp.

* * *

"Why...do they only whack me?" Naruto wondered painfully as he examined his scrapes and bruises. The three of us were standing in the forest of one of the village's training grounds.

"Sorry," Konohamaru apologized while he looked down at his feet.

"Hm?" I made a noise of confusion as I looked at him.

"It's 'cause I'm the grandson of a Hokage," Konohamaru grumbled.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Naruto reassured with a smile.

"Huh?" Konohamaru inquired in confusion.

"Naruto was the one who dragged you into those things anyway, so he deserves punishment more than you do," I commented, causing Naruto to shoot me a dirty look.

"Anyway, I prepared you, so now you're ready to learn the Sexy Jutsu. Believe it; you're just gonna need to practice," Naruto stated with a thumbs-up.

Konohamaru stood right in front of us with a stunned look on his face and grinned, saying, "Practice; all right, Boss!"

The next few hours were grueling, and I wasn't even the one doing the training.

"Now, the trick is to get all the curves in the right places. Are you ready?" Naruto inquired in anticipation.

"I'm ready Boss! Transform!" Konohamaru declared as he activated the jutsu.

One puff of smoke later stood the same transformation Konohamaru used at the bathhouse, only this time with more hair, light pink panties, and a light pink sports bra. Seeing that almost made me puke.

"What do you think?" Konohamaru asked in a deep voice.

 _"Okay...I don't think any amount of anything is ever going to scrub that image out of my mind,"_ I thought, feeling disturbed.

 _ **"I'm not going to touch that line with a ten-foot pole,"**_ Kurama remarked wryly as Naruto started to speak.

"No go, you gotta make her skinnier!" Naruto stated just as Konohamaru changed back.

"Skinnier! Right, Boss!" Konohamaru agreed and changed into the ugly woman again.

 _"Ugh, I get the feeling that this is going to be a long day..."_ I thought dryly as we kept trying to get the form right.

* * *

After a while, we stopped to take a break and rested on a log that was a few yards away from a few vending machines.

"So, what's up with this obsession you've got with your grandfather?" Naruto asked suddenly after taking a sip from his can of soda.

"My grandfather named me Konohamaru after the ancient name of the village, so it should be easy to remember. But no one calls me by that name; not one person in the village! That's 'cause, when they look at me, they don't really see me. All they see is the 'Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage'. No one knows who I am. I can't stand it anymore, it's like I'm invisible! Like I don't exist...I hate that. That's the reason...why I've got to become Hokage now, so people will know who I am!" Konohamaru explained bitterly after a moment of hesitation.

 _"Huh...he and Naruto are not so different. They both want to become Hokage so that people will finally acknowledge them,"_ I thought as I looked at Naruto, who looked at the ground and frowned.

"Get real! You think people are gonna accept a squirt like you?" Naruto pointed out.

"Naruto, don't be rude!" I scolded but he ignored me.

"A kid can't just turn into a Hokage after a day or two," Naruto continued to say.

"What?!" Konohamaru yelled angrily as he shot up to his feet.

"It's not that simple. You keep saying 'Hokage, Hokage!' To really be a Hokage, you know what you have to do?" Naruto lectured.

"What? What is it?" Konohamaru questioned eagerly and Naruto grinned at him like a maniac.

"You're gonna have to defeat me in battle!" Naruto declared.

"I found you!" a voice stated, and we looked to see Ebisu kneeling on a tree branch, staring at me and Naruto with a hateful glare as he jumped down from the branch and landed before us.

"So, Honorable Grandson, time to go home-" Ebisu began to say as we all stood up.

"No way! I'm learning how to beat my grandfather so that I can get the title Hokage. Now, don't get in my way!" Konohamaru shouted defiantly.

"A Hokage is more than just a fighter. He must know virtue, honor, wisdom, and he must be skilled in a thousand jutsu. You don't even know one jutsu," Ebisu stated condescendingly while walking toward us.

Konohamaru scowled at that and made a handsign.

"Transform!" Konohamaru shouted and I noticed that he had no problems with his chakra manipulation.

"Huh?" Ebisu muttered as he stopped, staring in what appeared to be curiosity as Konohamaru was covered in a puff of smoke.

Just then, the smoke cleared up to reveal a naked woman with long brown hair, holding her hands behind her head and smiling while only a thin layer of smoke covered up her private areas.

"Hi there, like my jutsu?" Konohamaru asked in a playfully seductive voice, and Ebisu's mouth dropped open in shock as Konohamaru changed back.

"What-what-what kind of scandalous technique is that?! Such tasteless vulgarity can never influence me! I am far beyond it!" Ebisu roared out incredulously while Naruto and I stared, and he ran over to grab Konohamaru by the scarf as the kid tried to run, causing a tug-of-war to begin.

"Honorable Grandson, stop this right now! Naruto and Alex are turning you into a delinquent! Only my special training can put you on the fast track to becoming Hokage!" Ebisu declared and hearing that irked me.

"First of all buddy, there is no "fast track" to becoming a Hokage, you have to earn that the hard way; no shortcuts. Second of all, Naruto and I are not turning him into anything. If anything, we've acted much kinder and better towards Konohamaru than you ever had," I stated sternly, earning the man's attention as I stepped forward.

"Excuse me?!" Ebisu snapped as he let go of Konohamaru and stormed up to me with a glare.

"You don't even use his real name, nor do you acknowledge him as a person. He's just a symbol of Lord Third to you, isn't he?!" I growled right into his face.

Ebisu didn't appear to take kindly to that and he tried to strike me with a fist, prompting me to deflect it and retaliate by sending him crashing to the ground with a palm strike to the chest.

"Nice try, but It doesn't change the fact that you don't see Konohamaru as a person or treat him like one!" I snarled ferally as my teeth and nails grew sharp, the color of my eyes staying the same but my pupils forming into slits.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto cried out as he conjured 50 clones that surrounded the area.

"Whoa! This is...unreal!" Konohamaru exclaimed in awe as I changed back to normal. Ebisu stood up and smirked smugly as he adjusted his shades.

"Hmph, I'm not impressed. I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja warrior. Watch how a real ninja defeats an upstart. Ready?" Ebisu asked arrogantly as he walked into the center of the clones and took a fighting stance.

"Transform!" all the Narutos cried out as they made a handsign.

Suddenly, we were all surrounded by nude female Narutos, who lunged at Ebisu and grappled onto him with giggles and saying things like "Master" or "We love you". Ebisu reacted by being sent backward from a nosebleed, crashing to the ground and twitching. The nude female clones of Naruto disappeared and Naruto was standing over Ebisu with a foxy grin.

"Gotcha, with my Harem Jutsu!" Naruto declared while I was blushing hard, tilting my head back a little and pinching my nose to prevent a nosebleed.

 _"Oh God...if Naruto can use his ingenuity to combine the shadow clones with the sexy jutsu, then he will become a real monster in combat when he's older,"_ I thought uneasily, wondering what had just been unleashed onto the world.

 _ **"I have to admit...the way the Kit took down that closet pervert was interesting...even though his methods are unorthodox in doing so,"** _Kurama muttered awkwardly, sensing him sweat-dropping at the ridiculous sight he had just witnessed.

* * *

After knocking Ebisu out, we left the area and found ourselves in another part of the forest as the sun setting and we prepared to say our goodbyes.

"Oh man, I couldn't even beat that snobby trainer of mine! I wanna be Hokage so bad, but I keep messing up! Why can't I do it?!" Konohamaru exclaimed in frustration.

"You really think it's that easy?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?" Konohamaru responded with a look of confusion.

"The Hokages are some of the most powerful ninjas to ever live. They were also some of the wisest and most experienced. Each of them worked hard to reach that point, so a few days isn't going to get you there," I stated and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"He's right, ya know. You have to prove yourself so that everyone believes in you. Look at us! My Tou-chan and I have been through a lot already; we've been ignored, pushed away, and treated like we have the plague or something. And after all that, Tou-chan worked hard to be accepted by the shinobi of this village and I found one person who believes in me. To find that person, I had to get knocked down a lot. So, you better make sure you are ready," Naruto said seriously.

"For what?" Konohamaru inquired and Naruto turned away from him.

"For lots of sweat...and tears...while you're learning to be a ninja," Naruto stated as he looked back, and he chuckled as he added, "By the way, Tou-chan was right about what he said to Ebisu-sensei. There is no easy way to becoming Hokage, believe it."

Konohamaru wore a stunned expression for a minute and he looked away from us.

"Ha! Who do you think you are anyway, giving me a big lecture like that?! That's it; I'm not going to be your apprentice anymore. From now on, we're rivals!" Konohamaru declared as he looked back with a grin.

"Well, Naruto's about to be a bit too busy to train you, anyways," I informed him as I ruffled Naruto's hair and added, "Because tomorrow, he's going to be taking the next big step in his life as a ninja by getting assigned to a team, and I'll be leading my own squad as well. But, I'm sure he'll be able to spare a bit of time to take you on as a rival."

"Yeah...and someday, we'll fight for the title of Lord Hokage. So let's both look forward to that day...Konohamaru," Naruto said with a smile.

With that statement, I took my hand off Naruto's head and we started heading home, the two of us raising our hands in a sign of farewell.

 _"You know what, Kurama? I truly believe that one day...they can do it,"_ I thought to Kurama, and I could sense him smirking.

 _ **"If the Kit does...then he'll be the most interesting Hokage I've ever seen. And I've seen them all,"**_ Kurama stated with a chuckle while Naruto and I headed home.

* * *

A/N And done. If you all are thinking that Kurama is acting a little OCC, just know that he had been talking to Alex and working with him for twelve years, so he had gotten to open up to Alex a tiny bit and not be as spiteful at everything. So, how did you all like this chapter, because I'm going to place Alex on Team 7 as a sensei, but I'm trying to figure out how to make that happen. If any of you have any ideas, let me know. One more thing, I wanted to say thank you all for liking my stories. It means a lot to have people supporting my work. And that's all for now, so stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

Hidden Leaf Village, Land Of Fire, Elemental Nations.

I was walking down the hallway toward the classroom where I would be introduced to my new squad. My assignment was part of an experiment that I had proposed to Hiruzen and he had agreed that it could be an interesting idea. I reached the classroom door, entered, and saw Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sitting at their desks looking back at me.

"Tou-chan, you're our sensei?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise while I waved in greeting.

"Hey, kiddo. Sorry, you had to find out like this, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Another part of the surprise is that I'm not going to be your only sensei," I informed them.

"Sensei, what do you mean?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I talked to Lord Third and we discussed trying a little experiment with you guys. We want to test how a Genin team will be able to work with two Jonin senseis and see if mission performance can be improved," I explained and added, "Well, now that I'm here, we should take the time to get to know each other since your second sensei is not going to be here for a while."

I noticed Sasuke glaring at me in displeasure, but I ignored it as I began chatting with them.

* * *

"Agh, where's our other sensei?! He's late!" Naruto growled in frustration after two hours had passed.

"I warned you that he would be taking a while, so calm down," I said as I finished cleaning my gun and put it back together.

Naruto glared at me for a second, then an evil grin appeared on his face as he went over to the chalkboard and grabbed the eraser. He then went to the door and opened it slightly so that he could balance the eraser between the door and the frame at the very top.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" I inquired with an arched brow as I loaded my gun and chambered a round, then put the safety on and holstered it.

"That's what he gets for being late. Surprise!" Naruto declared while he chuckled mischievously.

"Hmph. Our other teacher's a Jonin; an elite ninja. You'd think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke chimed in, earning my attention.

"He's right, Naruto. Your second sensei is not going to let that hit him unless he wanted to. Look Naruto...I know I let you keep pranking people so that you would stay happy, but you are a ninja now so you need to start taking things seriously," I lectured just as someone approached the classroom, and a gloved hand went to open the door.

The person opened the door and the eraser fell down and hit the man's head as he walked in. The man was Kakashi Hatake, a Jonin with silver spiked up hair. He was wearing a face mask that went from the top of his shirt to the bridge of his nose. The headband he wore was slanted down over his left eye and he was dressed in a green flak jacket and a navy blue jumpsuit with a Kuni holster and boots. Naruto started laughing while I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. Sakura and Sasuke looked surprised that Kakashi had let the eraser hit him.

 _"Naruto...really not a good way to make a good first impression. Once the actual survival test starts, he will drop that prankster front and he'll show us everything I taught him,"_ I told Kurama.

 _ **"I have to say, having him put up the front of an idiot to make people underestimate him is pretty fucking clever,"**_ Kurama stated as I grinned subtly.

 _"Exactly. Whenever he acts like a talentless idiot, people lower their guard and only see him as someone to not take seriously. Because of that, it gives him the advantage to take his enemies by surprise and go in for the kill,"_ I explained inwardly as Kakashi put a hand on his chin and he started to look thoughtful.

"Hmm...how can I put this...my first impression of our squad...you're a bunch of idiots," Kakashi stated blandly, causing the three Genin to scowl at him.

"Well, now that everyone is here, let's get the introductions out of the way. Meet us on the roof in 30 seconds," I instructed as Kakashi and I body flickered up to the roof to wait for our squad.

After waiting for 20 seconds, all three Genin rushed up to the roof and sat down to catch their breath.

"20 seconds...not bad. So you can rest while we do the introductions," I said calmly while crossing my arms.

"Introductions? Well, what are we supposed to say?" Sakura asked a little breathlessly.

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that," Kakashi replied with a shrug.

"Why don't you and Tou-chan tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk. Why don't you two tell us about yourselves so that we can see how it's supposed to work?" Naruto suggested and I nodded in agreement.

"Good suggestion Kiddo. How about you go first, Kakashi," I offered and Kakashi shrugged.

"Very well. I'm Kakashi Hatake...Things I like and things I hate...I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future...never really thought about that. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi informed unhelpfully.

"Well, that was...interesting. Anyway, I'll get started. My full name is Alexander Christopher Winston, but my friends call me Alex to make it easier. My likes are reading, hanging out with my son, and trustworthiness. My dislikes are dishonesty, close-mindedness, and criminal behavior. My hobbies are photography, cooking, and physical fitness. As for my dreams for the future...I want to live life with no regrets and prove to the world that the Tailed Beasts are not the monsters that everyone thinks they are," I stated in determination, and everyone looked at me in surprise.

"Huh... a nice introduction, Alex. Alright, you on the right, you're first," Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto.

"Believe it. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are my Tou-chan, Ichiraku Ramen, and those I see as true friends. My dislikes are those who treat me and my Tou-chan like we're monsters, bigots, and the three minutes it takes to cook instant ramen. My hobbies are taking care of the plants at home, having fun with my Tou-chan, pulling pranks, and training. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody important!" Naruto declared while he fiddled with his headband, and I noticed a wistful expression cross Kakashi's uncovered eye for a second as he looked at Sakura.

"Alright, next," Kakashi said with a bored look.

"I'm Sakura Haruno! What I like, uh...I mean, the person I like is...uh, my hobby is, uh...my dream for the future is..." Sakura stuttered as she looked at Sasuke and blushed heavily, burying her face with her hands and squealing.

 _"Oh for God's sake...she's one of those kind of people, isn't she?"_ I thought dryly and Kurama snickered.

 _ **"Seems like it. I almost feel sorry for the Uchiha brat...almost,"**_ Kurama stated in amusement.

"Alright...and what do you dislike?" I inquired, and Sakura shot a glare at Naruto.

"Naruto!" Sakura declared and Naruto looked crushed.

"Last one," Kakashi said as he looked at Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly 'like' anything. What I have isn't a dream, because I will make it a reality; I'm going to restore my clan...and kill two certain someones," Sasuke stated darkly, and Naruto and Sakura looked uneasy at that statement.

 _"Okay...we have my son, an obsessive fangirl, and a brooding lone wolf thirsty for revenge...that'll be fun,"_ I thought sarcastically.

"Good! You all are unique and have your own ideas. We'll begin our first mission tomorrow," I said as I clapped my hands together and rubbed my palms.

"Yup! What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked eagerly while showing a mock salute.

"It's a task that the five of us will do together," Kakashi said as he and I looked at our new students.

"What, what, what, what?!" Naruto asked, leaning forward in excitement.

"Calm down, Naruto. What we're going to be doing is a survival exercise," I explained.

"Huh? Survival exercise?" Naruto wondered in confusion.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice. We already did this stuff at the Academy. That's how we got here!" Sakura complained.

"This is not like your previous training," Kakashi said cryptically.

"So, uh...so, uh...what kind of training is it, then?" Naruto asked, and he started looking uncertain when Kakashi and I started chuckling together.

"Hey, hold on. That's a normal question. What's so funny, senseis?" Sakura questioned in confusion while we kept chuckling.

"Well, if we told you the answer, you wouldn't like it," I stated with a foxy grin.

"Huh? Tou-chan, what's the big deal? Just tell us already," Naruto said impatiently.

"Okay Kiddo, but don't say I didn't warn you. Of the twenty-eight graduates who just came here, only nine will be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass/fail test, and the chances for each team to fail is at least sixty-six percent," I explained with a deathly serious expression, causing Naruto to gulp, Sakura to look sick, and Sasuke looked pissed.

"See? Didn't Alex tell you all that you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi questioned.

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here, ya know! What was that graduation test for, anyway?!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh, that. That was just to select candidates who might become Genin, or not," Kakashi clarified as a hawk flew above us.

"What?! You mean that after everything I went through to finally pass that stupid exam and earn my headband, I could already have it taken away?!" Naruto cried out in horror.

"Exactly. We decide whether you all pass or fail. Meet us at Training Ground 7 in 0500 and bring your ninja gear. You're dismissed," I said as Kakashi and I went to leave, but Kakashi looked back at our new students.

"One more thing, skip breakfast tomorrow; you'll throw it back up if you don't," Kakashi warned as we vanished from their line of sight.

* * *

I was at Training Ground 7 as the sun was starting to rise, doing my morning routine of pushups, and situps as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke approached. As I stood up, I noticed that Naruto looked like he had ignored Kakashi's advice and had breakfast, Sakura was looking dead tired, and Sasuke looked fine.

"You guys are on time. Good work. And Naruto, I see that you ignored Kakashi's advice on skipping breakfast," I pointed out.

"Well, it's like you taught me, Tou-chan. Not everything is as it seems and I must always look past deception. I figured that Kakashi-sensei did that to weaken us and I had breakfast to be prepared just in case," Naruto admitted, causing Sakura to look at him in surprise while I heard her stomach growling.

"And what about you, Sasuke?" I asked when I didn't see any signs of hunger.

"Hn..." Sasuke grunted and I took that as his answer that he did the same thing that Naruto did.

"Well Sakura, seeing as how Naruto and Sasuke decided to ignore Kakashi's advice, you might as well have a pick-me-up so that you would be more awake and energized," I stated as Naruto took out a sealing scroll and activated it, causing a big bowl of ramen to appear.

"Here Sakura, you're gonna need this in order to keep your strength up," Naruto said kindly as he held out the bowl.

"He has a point. Kakashi won't be here for two hours, so that'll be plenty of time for your stomach to settle after you eat," I agreed.

Sakura looked hesitant at first, but she took the bowl and started practically inhaling the ramen, letting out a sigh of relief after she was done.

"Feel better?" I inquired.

"Much better, Sensei," Sakura informed me.

"Good. Now, let's work on your strengths and weaknesses while we wait for Kakashi to show up," I stated as we got started.

* * *

"Morning everyone. Are you all ready for your first day?" Kakashi asked as he approached, and I checked my watch to see that it was almost noon.

"Hey, you're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted while Kakashi waved.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take a long way," Kakashi lied as he smiled underneath his mask.

 _ **"That has got to be the worst lie I have ever heard of in my immortal life,"**_ Kurama remarked.

 _"It's not really his fault, Kakashi's just caught up in the past,"_ I defended, and Kurama huffed while I saw Sakura and Naruto fuming.

"Well, let's get started," I chimed in, while Kakashi and I walked over to a trio of wooden posts and I placed a timer on the middle one.

"Here we go, it's set for noon," Kakashi said as he started the timer, and we each took out a bell to show the others.

"Your assignment is very simple, you just have to take these bells from us. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch and you'll be tied to those posts before we eat our lunches in front of you," I stated while I rested my hands on my duty belt.

Kakashi noticed that none of the Genin's stomachs were growling and he said, "I see you three ignored my advice."

"I figured that you would get us to skip breakfast in an attempt to weaken us, so I ate and the rest of us had something to eat in preparation," Naruto explained, and I nodded in agreement.

"Nice work in preparing for the worst, but that still doesn't change the fact that neither of you will pass if you can't take these bells from us," I reminded as I jingled the bell in my left hand.

"Wait a minute! There's three of us; how come there are only two bells?" Sakura questioned in confusion.

"Well that way, at least one of you will still be tied up to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the Academy. Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill us, you won't be able to take the bells," Kakashi stated as he jerked his bell up by its string and closed his hand around it.

"Those weapons are too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura pointed out in concern.

"Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser!" Naruto said after laughing.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links, you can safely ignore them. Lowest scores; losers," Kakashi insulted lazily, causing Naruto to shoot him a hard glare for his remark.

"When we say start, you can begin," I said, and I saw Naruto gritting his teeth angrily.

Naruto suddenly took out a Kuni and went to attack Kakashi, only for Kakashi to move behind Naruto in a second to grab his head in one hand and forced the Kuni to aim at the back at Naruto's head.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Kiddo. We didn't say start yet," I commented nonchalantly.

Sasuke and Sakura took a few steps back from the man as he let go of Naruto, causing the kid to stumble forward and he quickly turned around to take a Taijutsu stance.

"But, you came at me with the full intention of eviscerating me, so...how can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys," Kakashi stated while he smiled under his mask.

"Alright...get ready, aaaand...start!" I instructed, causing all three Genin to jump up and disappear into the forest.

 _"All we need to do is wait and hope that they will figure out the true purpose of this test,"_ I thought to Kurama.

 _ **"From what you taught the Kit over the years, he'll be able to figure it out,"**_ Kurama assured.

After waiting for a while, Kakashi and I felt danger behind us, causing the two of us to quickly turn around and deflect five shurikens with Kuni as Naruto leapt out of the bushes and glared at us in determination.

"Very good Naruto, ambushing us from behind like that. If we weren't so well trained, Kakashi and I would be dead," I complimented, and Naruto tisked at the failed ambush.

"Taijutsu," Kakashi said suddenly as he reached into his weapon pouch, making Naruto jump back to gain some extra distance and get ready for what Kakashi was planning. I deadpanned when Kakashi pulled out a Make-Out Paradise book and calmly started reading.

 _"Jesus Kakashi, be professional for God's sake,"_ I thought while I sweat-dropped, and I noticed Naruto was twitching from seeing the adult novel.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, why are you reading that book?" Naruto questioned in disbelief.

"Why? To find out what happens in the story, of course. Don't let it bother you; with your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or whatever," Kakashi goaded.

Naruto gritted his teeth at that, but he didn't charge at us. Instead, he studied us for any weaknesses. Then, Naruto shot at Kakashi faster than before and jumped to perform a roundhouse kick at his head, prompting Kakashi to smoothly duck and take a step back to avoid the follow-up kick. Naruto turned his attention to me and began unleashing a barrage of punches at my face, and I reacted by quickly deflecting and blocking, then grabbing Naruto by his right wrist and throwing him away.

Naruto landed on his feet with a grin and watched us, whistling. My eyes widened when I saw eight more Narutos burst out of the treetops, and descend to attack us. Kakashi and I were separated while we were fighting off the clones, and I was being pushed back towards the lake during the fight. Three more Narutos came bursting out of the lake and charged at me from behind.

 _"Shit! When the hell did Naruto manage to hide three shadow clones in the lake?! Fuck it!"_ I thought, feeling impressed that I had been lured into an ambush.

I formed all nine of my tails and grabbed many clones with them, slamming them to the ground and sending the rest away with a few swipes of my tails. The clones disappeared in puffs of smoke as I managed to spot Sasuke coming at me from out of nowhere to get the bell that was tied to my duty belt. I quickly grabbed his wrists and tossed him away to get a little breathing room, but I was suddenly forced to dodge a kick that was aimed at me and I kept backing up to block many hits that were aimed at me.

I was backed up to a tree and Sasuke jumped up, performing hand signs in my direction.

 _"What the fuck?! How the hell did he learn such a high ranking technique?!"_ I thought in shock.

"Fire style; Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke declared as he shot a giant fireball at me.

Thinking fast, I replaced myself with a log to get out of danger and appeared on a tree branch to take a breather just as Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to take on Kakashi, who suddenly vanished. The two rivals looked around frantically for their target as I took out my baton and got ready. Kakashi appeared behind Naruto with a handsign, as I rushed at Sasuke and Kakashi went to attack Naruto.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: A Thousand Years Of Death!" Kakashi cried out as he jammed his fingers up Naruto's ass and sent him flying through the air in pain.

While Naruto was flying through the air, I started swinging my baton at Sasuke to incapacitate him and he quickly leaned back to prevent getting knocked out just in time for a pair of hands to come out of the ground and yank Sasuke underground, leaving only his head poking out of the ground. The Kakashi that was in view poofed out of existence as the real Kakashi came out of the ground and kneeled in front of Sasuke.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. Well, we have to compliment your teamwork with Naruto and you two nearly got the bells, but it wasn't good enough. I think we'll go look for Sakura now," Kakashi stated as he walked away humming.

"Sasuke, once this test is over, we need to talk," I simply said as I looked away from him and also walked away.

Kakashi and I hid nearby and watched Sakura come out of the forest, and she dug Sasuke out as Naruto stumbled over to them. I felt proud when I saw them conversing about working together, and we left them to plan alone.

* * *

Kakashi and I waited next to the three pillars, the two of us preparing for what would happen next. I suddenly heard a roaring sound and we instantly leaped out of the way to avoid getting hit by a giant fireball, then quickly moved to block a kick and a punch that came from two Naruto clones. We threw them away just as we heard a battle cry. Kakashi and I quickly turned to see Sakura going for the bells. I grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her neck and taking out my gun so that I could place it against her head. Sakura screamed in terror just as Naruto and Sasuke jumped out of the bushes to scowl at me.

"Well boys, I have your teammate held hostage so what are you two going to do about it?" I inquired with a foxy grin.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and nodded, Sauske jumped up and my eyes widened in shock when he started to form hand signs.

 _"He's not planning to...is he crazy?!"_ I thought in horror, but I noticed that Sakura wasn't struggling or fighting back and my eyes widened in realization when I discovered that her clothes felt wrong.

 _"Those clever bastards! They used a shadow clone disguised as Sakura so that it would lower our guard...I taught you well, Naruto,"_ I thought with a smile as a giant fireball came flying at me and Kakashi.

I shoved the clone away and formed bubbling red chakra all over me with long ears and a tail just as the fireball crashed down upon me, but the 1 Tailed cloak protected me from the intense heat as I moved on all fours to make it look like I had been vaporized. I extended my chakra tail to grapple the nearby tree branch and pulled myself up as Kakashi landed a safe distance away.

I quickly leaped down in front of Naruto and Sasuke, crouching like an animal and grinning ferally at the feeling of my blood running hot from the thrill of letting loose a little.

 **"I'm impressed. This is the first time that I've been pushed into using this form against someone...I taught you well, Kiddo,"** I complimented Naruto, who grinned with a laugh and he scratched the back of his head bashfully.

I quit grinning and started growling in anticipation for what else Naruto and Sasuke had in mind, but I heard a cutting noise and looked back to see Sakura with the bells and a Kuni. I was shocked at the fact that I had been distracted so that Sakura could sneak up behind me to get my bell, and I looked at Kakashi to see that he was also in disbelief while he frantically patted himself down. I changed back and stood up fully, looking at Sakura with an arched brow.

"Okay Sakura, what are you going to do with those bells now that you managed to get them from us?" Kakashi inquired smoothly.

Sakura didn't say anything but went over to Naruto and Sasuke, handing them the bells and looking back at us.

"Huh, and why did you do that Sakura?" I asked curiously.

"Well, in terms of safety, the bells would be best kept with these two since they are the strongest out of all three of us. And...well...they're stronger than me. So, if anyone should pass, it should be them," Sakura admitted while looking down.

"Do you two agree with this?" Kakashi asked as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yes, but only on the first part. She may not be the strongest out of the three of us, but I don't think she should fail in order for us to pass. Without her help, we wouldn't have acquired the bells as fast or as efficiently as we just did," Sasuke explained logically, sounding completely neutral.

"What about you, Naruto. Do you agree with him?" I asked in anticipation.

"Yep! She isn't a half bad teammate once you get past the short temper and fangirl tendencies, like coming up with the plan to trick you with using one of my shadow clones to disguise it as Sakura to lower your guard," Naruto praised, and it proved that Sakura was really smart once I looked past the fangirl tendencies.

I had never been more proud of Naruto, who had managed to figure out the true meaning of this test and convinced Sakura and Sasuke to work with him to get the bells. At this point, Team Seven has passed our little test and was now officially a team.

 _"Now to train them hard on becoming a force to be reckoned with,"_ I thought with a smile as I thought about putting these kids through the wringer.

 _ **"You've been hanging around me and that snake woman a little too much,"**_ Kurama remarked with a sinister chuckle as I pictured putting them through my own brand of special training.

"Anyways, before we go any further, we would like you three to look over there," Kakashi instructed as he pointed to a large black polished Kuni shaped stone nearby, and my good mood disappeared as we went to approach the stone.

"Tell us, do you all know what this is?" I asked while I looked back at the three Genin, who shook their heads while I felt sorrow. Then I added, "This stone has all the names of shinobi who fought bravely for the village, but don't be fooled. This stone isn't here for the purpose of just naming heros...it's here as a memorial to all these shinobi, because they died in combat. It's especially for those who are unable to be recovered to receive a proper burial."

While I explained, I felt remorse and guilt when I looked back and saw Minato and Kushina's names on the stone, and I lowered my head in respect for those who had died over the years.

 _"I'm sorry...I wasn't fast enough to save you two..."_ I thought guiltily as the image of Minato and Kushina appeared in my mind. Even though I knew it wasn't my fault, I still hated myself for not being fast enough to save Minato and Kushina, and for Naruto living a life of hell.

"Shortly after I became a Jonin, a friend told me something that has stayed with me to this very day, a code if you want to see it that way. He said to me 'those who abandon the mission are trash', but he also said 'those who abandon their friends are worse than trash'," Kakashi stated while he gazed up at the sky.

"In the Military, we had a saying...leave no man behind. No matter what, we always go back for our fellow soldiers and bring them home...even if they don't make it in the end," I said quietly as I thought about Corporal Jamie Smith and how he died on that table while holding my hand.

Before I knew it, horrific memories of Mogadishu came back and I recalled how terrified I was that day, telling Sergeant Eversmann that I didn't want to die while we and the rest of Chalk 4 were held up in that house throughout the entire night. I quickly shook it off and looked back at our new students, seeing them looking solemn. I put on a smile to cover up my remorse and guilt.

"Kakashi-sensei, this friend sounds like he was a pretty cool guy," Naruto commented with a grin.

"Yeah, he was..." Kakashi trailed off and his eye misted over in reminiscence.

"Okay, I'm proud to say that we are now officially Team Seven!" I declared with a thumbs up, causing Sakura and Naruto to cheer and Sasuke smirked.

"Now, you can all have the rest of the day off, but meet us here tomorrow at 7:00 AM and we will get started on training and missions, okay?" Kakashi inquired, earning nods and "yes Senseis" from our students.

"Good, you're all dismissed," I stated and everyone started to leave.

I placed my hand on Naruto's shoulder and we started heading home.

"So...how did I do, Tou-chan?" Naruto asked in anticipation.

"You did excellent work Kiddo, and I couldn't be any more proud of you. Listen Naruto, once we get back home, there is someone I want you to meet," I informed, causing Naruto to look at me in confusion.

"Really? Who is this person?" Naruto asked, and I hoped that he would be up to meeting Kurama.

I didn't say anything, but just pointed at his stomach, making a symbol of a seal with a handsign and Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"You want me to meet the Nine-Tailed Fox? Tou-chan...I don't know about this," Naruto said hesitantly, and I nodded in understanding.

"It's okay if you don't want to meet him, Naruto. I figured that since you know about him being sealed inside you, you would want to meet him so that you two could come to an understanding. If you don't want to meet him, then I'll understand," I said while I nodded reassuringly, the two of us almost home.

* * *

"So I just...meditate?" Naruto asked with a furrowed brow while we sat in front of each other on my large bed.

"Well, I see meditation as a way to help ease the process of going into your mindscape. Also, make sure that we bump fists together. That way, I'll be able to link into your mindscape and be there for support," I instructed as I raised my fist.

Naruto looked dubious at first, but an encouraging grin from me gave him enough courage to put his fist against mine and I started the process of mediating. I closed my eyes and took deep calming breaths, feeling myself slipping away and hearing the noises of the village change into the sounds of water dripping. I opened my eyes to see that I was in a familiar sewer with the giant cage doors, Naruto standing next to me and looking around with an awe-struck expression.

"Whoa! What is this place?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock while he was looking around with wide eyes.

"Welcome to your mindscape Kiddo, though I wasn't expecting it to look like this," I commented while I examined the place with a thoughtful frown.

 **"So, my jailer finally meets me at last,"** Kurama chimed in sarcastically.

Naruto paled at the demonic and guttural voice, turning around to see Kurama's enormous red eyes staring down at him from behind the cage doors.

"This...this is...?" Naruto stuttered nervously, and he started looking green when Kurama rose to his full size and showed a toothy grin at him.

"Kurama, quit scaring Naruto...anyways. Naruto, this is Kurama, otherwise known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Kurama, this is Naruto, my son and your "Jailer" as you called him," I introduced calmly, and Kurama huffed while Naruto shot me a look of disbelief.

"But...but...why are you...why are you so friendly with him, Tou-chan? Isn't he...isn't it?" Naruto rambled in shock and I bopped him lightly in the back of the head to snap him out of it.

"First of all, don't call him an it. Kurama's not a mindless animal, he's a person like you and me. Secondly, don't judge him before you get to know him. Kurama's not a bad person, he's had a very rough life and was unlucky because of it," I lectured and Kurama snorted, making me add, "And it also made him very grouchy in the process."

"I don't...I don't know," Naruto said hesitantly and I placed a hand on his head to ruffle his hair.

"Hey, it's fine. I just...wanted you to meet him. I consider Kurama a colleague and I would like it if you two came to an understanding. I'm not going to force anything on you or him, but I just wanted you to consider it at least. I don't want to keep any secrets from you, which is why I'll eventually tell you about your parents," I admitted.

"That's right! You told me that you adopted me after my parents died, so who were they?" Naruto asked eagerly and I hoped he understood that I couldn't tell him yet.

"I...I'm truly sorry Kiddo, but I can't tell you that yet. Before you say anything, I will tell you once you become a Chunin but it's too dangerous right now. Your parents were amazing shinobi that played a big part in the Third Great Shinobi War and they made very powerful enemies in the process. If I told you and someone heard me reveal it, they could have ill-intentions and leak it to those enemies. If that happens, they could actually start the Fourth Great Shinobi War to get to you, and a lot of innocent people could get caught in the crossfire. Do you understand?" I asked after I knelt down and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Well...I'm not happy that you can't tell me, but I understand why you are doing it. You don't want to take the risk in case someone hears it and people get hurt because of that. Okay, I'll wait until I become Chunin, but you better tell me about them when I do, believe it!" Naruto declared with a grin and I nodded.

Naruto turned to look at Kurama, seemingly hesitant until his eyes hardened and his tone evened out, "You listen here! My Tou-chan is very important to me so if you hurt him, I'll hurt you! If my Tou-chan tells me that you are not a bad person, then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. My Tou-chan always tells me that I should judge a person after I get to know them, so that's what I'm going to do."

 **"Hmph. How quaint, you seemed to have deluded yourself into thinking that I actually care about your opinion,"** Kurama snickered and Naruto frowned at the rude comment.

"Don't take it too personally Naruto, that's just Kurama's way of agreeing with you. He's a very prideful and distrustful person, so don't expect him to open up to you the second he meets you," I explained, and Kurama scowled at me.

 **"I didn't agree to anything, baka. If that brat wants to gain my trust and respect, then he needs to earn it by proving himself to me. Which is why he needs to grow strong enough to fight me once the time comes,"** Kurama sniffed as he laid down, and I saw Naruto blanching at the thought of facing Kurama in combat and quite possibly getting killed.

I knew that was all Kurama was going to say and I took Naruto out of his mindscape. The two of us came out of meditation and I shifted into my dog-sized fox form so that I could stretch my body like a cat and I yawned tiredly. One thing about my fox form is that when I change into it, I become really flexible so that I'm fast and nimble. I also do many exercises like yoga to increase my flexibility so that I could become much more proficient in dodging many attacks at once.

"He can't be serious, Tou-chan! Me?! Fighting against him?! That's insane!" Naruto exclaimed in panic.

 **"Naruto! Calm down and take a few deep breaths,"** I instructed and Naruto followed my instructions.

"Okay, I'm calm but what do I do? How could I ever fight against the Fox? History taught me that he nearly destroyed the village twelve years ago, so how do I fight against someone that strong?" Naruto questioned while I went over to lay down next to him.

 **"We train and prepare until you are strong enough to face him, but always remember that Kurama is no pushover. It's like you said, he nearly wiped out the village twelve years ago by raw power alone, so be extremely careful when you do face him,"** I said and Naruto nodded in agreement.

I stood up and went to get off the bed, but Naruto gently grabbed one of my tails and I looked back in confusion.

 **"What is it, Naruto? Is something wrong?"** I asked in concern.

"Ugh...it's stupid Tou-chan, but could you stay here tonight? I don't feel comfortable sleeping alone right now," Naruto admitted in embarrassment, and I nodded in understanding.

I went over to Naruto and curled up next to him after he went under the covers. Naruto put a hand on one of my tails and ran it through the fur. I shivered at the nice contact and closed my eyes.

"Your tails feel so soft..." Naruto trailed off quietly as he drifted off to sleep.

I made a noise of agreement and smiled softly as I fell asleep, enjoying the hand running through my fur as I purred.

 _"So, this is what it feels like for a dog or a cat when they are being pampered. It's...nice,"_ I thought groggily and drifted away.

* * *

A/N And done. So, how did you all like the chapter? I bet you all were pretty surprised that Naruto was able to figure out the true purpose of the bell test and able to take on two Jonin with Sakura and Sasuke's help. One more thing, I'm planning on Alex to get into a relationship with someone but I haven't been able to figure out who he should be with. The person should be around his age, female, single, and have the same interests he does. Hell, I might think outside the box and pair him up with someone who's not human. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, let me know. Stay tuned.


	8. Important, Read Now

Hello everyone, I have important news that you need to hear.

Due to losing inspiration and unable to come up with new ideas for this story, I'm going to have to cancel Tale of a Nine-Tails Legacy. I've thought about it for a long time and I didn't want to give up on this story that I was so passionate about, but a few things came to my attention.

The first thing is that someone reviewed to me about how I made a lot of mistakes in chapter three and looking at those mistakes, it made me realize that I really wasn't going anywhere with the story...not to mention that creating another Naruto story called Death Is Only the Beginning with the same OC character probably wasn't the best move since Alex's situation in that story was different and juggling two stories with the same person in them is something that was a real struggle.

I had started with chapter eight but I couldn't continue and I had completely struggled with it for months until it became apparent that I am unable to continue this story...this is quite possibly the hardest decision I have had to make but I have no choice since I have lost any motivation to continue, but I have good news so it's not all bad.

The good news is that I'm willing to let people adopt this story and remake it under a similar character with a different name, though this character would have to have the same profession as Alex did before he wound up in the Naruto world and that he used to be in the US Military in order to not make him too different.

If anyone is willing to adopt this story, please let me know because I really don't want this story to die and I think someone else would do better then I ever did.

I'm truly sorry if anyone is pissed that I'm canceling this story but I've lost any drive to continue and I'd rather tell you all about my decision than keep you all in the dark for who knows how long.

It is with great sorrow that I'm unable to continue this story so let me know if any of you want to adopt this story and make it even better...again, I'm truly sorry for this so stay tuned.


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